New Man in Town
by Gentileschi
Summary: COMPLETE! PostHogwarts Hermione works in a small town when Draco moves into his family estate. He is different, but the house has a power of it's own. Plus, who likes his exfiance, Josephine? Will she ever leave? Please Read & Review! HrDGBZ
1. What About Him?

AN: I don't not, nor ever will (unfortunately) own the Harry Potter characters. I just read the wonderful stories and wish I could write that well and creatively.

This is my first story and I know I'm not as creative as most of your guys so please review and give me hints!

A/N: I noticed today (as I'm having writers block) that I have switched from first person to third person. A horrible writing error that has been corrected.

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"How about him? Or him? Oh, that one's cute!" Shopping with her mum had been fun until the local football team showed up. Hermione's mom has been complaining now for about a month that Hermione needed to expand her social life, which really meant, "You need a man." The football team running by provided an opportunity for her mum to take 'window shopping' to a new level.

"Yes, they are cute, but did you know that hitting all of those balls on their heads ruins their brains?" Mum just smiled. Hermione continued, "I'm just not looking for love right now. I am very happy with my life. I have a good job, good friends and I don't need the complications of love."

"What about the fun of love?"

"I can do without it. When it happens, it will happen. I don't want to chase men around in the meantime and end up with meaningless relationships. Don't worry."

"Ok, ok. Hmm. Hermione, let's check out this shop. I need a new bag."

The rest of the day went pretty well and Hermione said goodbye to her mom and headed towards her flat. She loved visiting with her mum and usually would go home for dinner, but any more talk about her love life would put Hermione in a rather nasty mood. She preferred her mum to like her.

Hermione loved living in the city, but when she found the perfect job doing fieldwork for the Ministry of Magic, she chose to move out to the countryside. She was still close to London, only about an hour or two's drive, and Hermione had come to appreciate the quite nature of her new home. As she walked up a small hill towards her building, she heard someone calling her name.

"Hermione! Wait up!" Ginny Weasley called to her, breathless. Hermione stopped, smiled and waited for her good friend to catch up. Ginny may be younger than her, but she was more fun to hang out with than most people were. Although the relationship with her brother Ron didn't work out, they still acted like sisters.

"Whew! I'm glad I caught you! Come on! Let's go to The Jolly Bog so I can tell you the news!" Ginny's red hair was a bit wild like always and it looked like she just came from work. Ginny ended up following the path of her elder brother, but instead of watching dragons, Ginny was an all-around vet for all animals; magical and not. They used to share a flat, but after Ginny brought home her 5th dog to add to the 3 bunnies, 4 cats, fish and birds, Hermione suggested she find a place with a yard. She now lives down the road from Hermione's flat.

"What news?" Hermione asked, curious. Ginny always had the best news about people in town. Because she had all the information, Hermione was less inclined to date any of them, but it's better to know about faults before you are in love, right?

"Oh, come on! I knew you hadn't heard the news yet!" She said, tugging at Hermione's robes. Hermione followed dolefully, her curiosity piped. They found an open table in The Jolly Bog and sat their stuff down. Ginny went up to order drinks, fish and chips.

While she was at the bar, Hermione looked around and noticed that most of the women seemed more excited than usual. Usually when the football team ran by the pub all of the women would watch, but today they seemed happier to gossip among themselves. "What is going on?" Hermione wondered.

Just then, she thought she saw something familiar out of the corner of her eye. A flash of a man with silver blonde hair registered in her mind before he was gone. Something seemed familiar, but Hermione couldn't place it. Did she know him? It was rare for people she knew to come to this little town without her knowledge. Hermione was pondering the image when Ginny came back with our drinks.

"Did you see him?" She gasped, very excited.

"Who?"

"Who? I think you must be the only girl to not know! _Draco_ _Malfoy_ has moved into the old Carney estate outside of town! Not only is he _incredibly_ handsome now, he is incredibly rich! Have you seen the estate? It's huge! And gorgeous!"

"Wait – _Draco_ has moved here? Are you sure? Why is he here? What does he want? Wait, did he just walk by?"

"Yea, I just saw him. I saw him look in here too, but I think the large number of girls scared him away. 'Mionie, they say that after Harry, Draco is _the _most eligible bachelor in London, if not all of Europe! And he's now living in our little town! Wow, do you think he will remember us?"

"How could he forget?" Hermione thought gloomy back to our time at Hogwarts. Draco and his goons had defiantly not been friends to her friends or her. She was perfectly happy to leave Draco and all ties to him at Hogwarts. What was he doing here now? And living in the Carney estate? Her happy flat would seem so, well, _poor_ compared to his home. Not that he earned his housing through work – his family was one of the richest in the wizard community, but she always wanted to show that pure-blood, coincided boy that her little muggle-blood self could do just as good as him, if not better.

Draco's own work was quite admirable, really. For such a self-centered git in school, Draco had developed into a respectable man. He had proven that he would not follow the ways of his father and had used his money to sponsor many charities for various causes. Mostly magical causes, but Hermione had noticed last year a significant Malfoy contribution to the Golden Valley Foundation for the Understanding of Muggles. Not that that made me want to start an acquaintance with him again, but she hated to think of the way they left their relationship.

"Oh, don't worry about that! That was years ago! I bet that if he remembers us, he will invite us for tea." Ginny's eyes lit up with excitement. "Can you imagine us at his _home_! What would we wear!"

The rest of the evening was spent with Hermione trying to get Ginny to realize that, past or not, the chances of them going to Draco's house were slim. Finally, they headed out of the pub and to our separate homes. As Hermione climbed into bed, she wondered how her lovely town would change with the aristocratic Malfoy in town, but finally resolved to not worry about it until a change occurred.

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Ok, no Draco in this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think of it so far. I have an idea of where this is going, but I want to hear your options and any suggestions you have. This is a Hermione and Draco romance, but you have to wait a bit for it to go all the way.  The rating may change, but I like PG for right now since I want to build the story a bit. 


	2. A Second Chance

A/N: Thanks to my 2 reviewers:) I appreciate your thoughts and I hope you like this next chapter! I will try to make it a bit longer... Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter characters or stories - I'm just inspired. ;)

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The next morning began like any other. Hermione woke up, had a good breakfast and got dressed. Since it was her day off, she told Ginny that she would help her with some of her field appointments. It was always fun to walk outside with her best friend and play with whatever animals were on the schedule. Hermione may not be a vet, but she still like animals!

Hermione walked outside and started up the street towards Ginny's house.

"Hermione!" she turned to see Mrs. Gilbert, her neighbour, running after her with something in her hand.

"Good morning Mrs. Gilbert."

"Good morning Hermione! I'm glad I caught you. This letter," she held it out for her to see, "arrived for you this morning, but the young man brought it to my flat instead of yours. I hope it's not any bad news; the gentleman was going to wake you up, but I told him I would make sure you got it. I know how hard you work and I want to make sure that you rest on your day off! Speaking of, why are you up so early!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Gilbert. I am off to help Ginny today - I like to get out and play with her animals every once in awhile." Mrs. Gilbert smiled.

"Yes, the fresh air does a person very good." She patted Hermione's arm and began to turn around.

"Um, Mrs. Gilbert?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Who sent this letter?" Hermione looked at the letter for any clues. It was plain white paper folded with a red wax seal. The seal had a symbol engraved in it, but she couldn't make out what it was exactly.

"Oh! I'm sorry - how rude of me! The gentleman did mention a request as well. He said that your reply to the letter would be appreciated as soon as possible. He will come back to your flat this evening for a reply."

"Ok, but who is it from?"

"Goodness, I don't know! It looked like a man servant, so I would suggest you read the letter for the master's name!" Mrs. Gilbert gave Hermione one of those looks like she should have thought of that course of action already. She turned again to go, "Hermione, have a wonderful day. Please tell Ginny hello for me and invite her over for supper one day! I know your mother cooks you both wonderful meals, but I want the chance to spoil you as well!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Gilbert. I will tell Ginny and we will come by soon." Mrs. Gilbert waved goodbye and walked back up the road. Hermione was left with the letter in her hand. Before I could open it though, Ginny came up behind her.

"Hermione! What is taking you so long? I'm supposed to be out to the Collins' farm in 20 minutes! Come on!" She started to drag her down the road. Hermione stopped her.

"Wait! Ginny, let me read this letter I just got. I'm a bit confused about it."

"Read it when we get there - you don't have to do anything today, but I do!" She smiled for her rudeness, "Come on. I will be all ears when we get there."

* * *

"So, what is this letter you got?" Ginny asked after they were at the Collins' farm and ankle deep in mud with a mother pig and her litter. Ginny was catching each one for any illnesses or diseases.

"Oh right!" Hermione pulled the letter out of her pocket and leaned against the fence. Taking out her wand, she broke the seal, and smoothed out the letter.

'Dear Hermione,

I hope that you do not mind me writing to you, especially since it has been years since we last spoke. On which note, I would like to apologize for my behaviour in the past. I was always unnecessarily rude to you and would appreciate if you could take my apology. There is no reason for you to, since I acted unbearable toward you. In which case, I come to my second reason for writing this note. I would like to invite you to my manor sometime for afternoon tea. I had always admired you for your dedication to your work and for your loyalty to those around you. If I could some day be considered a friend of yours, my life would be more complete that it had ever been. I will be sending my servant back this evening for your reply. I hope that you will accept my invitation. I would like to feel at home in my new town and I think you can help me a lot. Please feel free to bring a friend with you, if you feel more comfortable.

With warm regards,

Draco Malfoy'

"What happened 'Mione! Why do you look so shocked! What happened?" Ginny was instantly by her side, still cradling a baby pig in her arms. Hermione had to admit, she was very surprised by the letter. Ginny grabed the letter from her hand and read it quickly.

"Draco! Wow! Oh, he's apologized! And inviting you to tea! Wow, I have never seen a letter like this before! It's almost from a novel! Oh, you have to go - Please say you will go Hermione!"

Hermione snapped out of her shock, "Of course I will go! I can't refuse an invitation like that. But, do you think he is serious? This sounds so formal; so nice!"

"Well, they do say that Draco has changed so much from Hogwarts that even Snape doesn't recognize him!" Ginny giggled at the mention of Snape. "Besides, the poor guy is probably lonely - new to a new town, being hounded as a stud - he has a hard life!" Hermione had to laugh at Ginny. She can be so supportive one minute and then crazy the next. But, she always made Hermione laugh.

"Of course I am coming, but you have to come too!" Ginny started to protest, but Hermione stopped her. "I insist! I would feel so much better with you there. Draco may have changed, but I still remember how I last saw him; all conceited and arrogant and such a snob and..."

"Are you talking about me?" Hermione whirled around and gasped. There, on a very handsome horse, was none other than Draco Malfoy himself. While she was wallowing in the mud, Draco was on a clean, handsome, brown horse. He was wearing a very proper riding habit that showed off his muscular body. His blonde hair fell effortlessly around his face like a model. As Hermione looked up, she found his eyes gazing into her, but without the hostility she always saw at Hogwarts. Instead, they were kind. 'I wish I saw him like this before,' she thought, 'He looks so nice.'

"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed, "Hermione and I were just talking about people we once knew - not you!" She quickly changed the subject, "I am so glad to see that you are living so close to us! What made you decide to come out here?" Draco held Hermione's gaze a bit longer. Then, he smiled with a wink and turned towards Ginny. Hermione blinked in surprise, blushed and looked down as they talked.

"Hello Ginny. You are looking very well - I bit different from the girl I knew at Hogwarts. Not that you didn't look good then," he hastily added, getting a bit flushed. "I got tired of living in the city and decided that I need a county home to call my own. There is no room in the city to ride horses and enjoy nature in solitude. I hope to find it here."

"Yes, we are defiantly quiet here, right Hermione?" Ginny asked, nudging her. Hermione could only nod in agreement; she was still embarrassed about Draco catching her rant about the old him. He looked so handsome and composed and... different! It is very weird to see someone be a completely different person that the one you grew up with and hated.

"Hermione, did you get my letter?" Draco asked, turning back towards her. She straightened up and tried to look as presentable as one could in mud.

"Yes, that was a very nice note Draco." Hermione said, probably failing to look dignified.

"Well, I do want us to be friends. Especially since we will be living so close to each other." Hermione nodded. "I know I was such a, what was it? Conceited, arrogant snob?" He laughed at her mortification. "But I do think that we could be great friends. I can only ask for your forgiveness for my past behaviour." Hermione nodded again.

"Yes, I do believe in second chances. I know that I have changed since Hogwarts, so I can only assume that you have changed as well. If you'd like, I can reply to your note now." Hermione glanced towards Ginny. "Ginny and I would love to come to your estate for tea sometime. It will be nice to catch up on things and to visit your new home." She perked up thinking of his home. "Actually I would love a tour of the manor if you don't mind. I have been doing a little side research on country estates for awhile now. I find that there are many secret wizard passages to pokeys that take the finder to locations around Europe. With your permission, I would love to look around."

Draco looked a bit surprised at the request, but smiled. "Anything for you, Hermione." She blinked, a bit taken aback. "Well, can I expect to see you then tomorrow afternoon? Around four?"

"That sounds perfect." Hermione smiled


	3. History of the Carney estate

A/N: I do not own the Harry Potter characters; I just love the books:)

Thank you to everyone who is reviewing my story! I appreciate your thoughts and comments. Sorry it took me so long to get this up – I'm sure you understand how busy life can get!  This chapter, as I look back is a lot of background stuff – so sorry romantic minded people! I hope you enjoy it though – I was going to just go to tea this chapter, but I am building more of a plot instead. That way, I can bring the story somewhere _after_ tea!

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The next day Hermione went into town early to do some research before Ginny and she went to tea with Draco. She was excited to see him again, now that she saw how much he had changed. It would be wonderful to have a new friend in town – especially a rich one, she thought with a quick smile. The Carney estate was an estate with foundations dating from 800 AD. It had been rebuilt and expanded over the years, but many people believed that the foundations told the story of an old clan power struggle. Hermione was interested in the possible pokeys that might be found in the many, certain-to-be-there secret passages. The Carney estate had never been open to researchers due to the powers in the foundations, but going through secret passages never hurt anyone. Thinking about the passages of the Carney estate, Hermione headed to the historical lodge to see if she could find any more information.

The Sherborne historical society thought that it would be funny to have their historical lodge in a secret location where the only way to find it was if you knew the answers to their questions. Since the questions changed every week, Hermione tried to think of all random facts that she knew as she went to the starting point – the old castle. As she walked up to the castle she began to hum "London Bridge is Falling Down." About halfway up the walk, a small ball of light appeared before Hermione.

"What is your name?" the glowing ball asked with a shrill voice.

"Hermione Granger."

"What is your quest?"

She rolled my eyes. The society was apparently going through a Monty Python trip. "To find more information about Carney secret passages and the estate."

"To find your answers you must first do a task for us. You must bring to us… A SHRUBBERY!"

"Oh, god; I am not going to do that!"

"You must do as we command to enter the society that is us!"

"Oh stop it! Give me my next question or else I'm going to leave!" Hermione was getting less and less in the mood to deal with this.

"Ok, ok. To enter our lodge you must answer 3 questions." The ball paused. "What is a Menehune?"

She was able to answer this one straight away. "A Menehune is similar to fairies and usually found in Hawaii or Polynesian. They are trickster beings, usually mischievous and not cruel. They are always naked but are covered by long hair. They are afraid of owls. When they become too mischievous and cause too much chaos, the owl god, Paupueo, sends all the owls to chase them into the forest." (see note 1)

"Very good, Hermione. Now what is a leprechaun?"

Hermione started, "Are you serious?"

"We are always serious! Now, anwser the question!"

"The word leprechaun means "one shoe maker." The orginiated in Ireland and usually take the form of a diminutive old man; no larger than three feet tall, wearing a cocked hat, leather apron, vest, knee breeches, and long stockings. They are always bearded and are usually pipe smokers. They also know where gold is kept." (see note 2)

"Wonderful, wonderful! Now, what is a Dragon Stone?"

Hermione had to think hard about this one – she didn't think she had ever come across a dragon stone before.

"Give up, give up!"

"No, I'm still thinking!" she was racking her brain to figure out a stone called Dragon. She did not have a lot of luck.

"Give up yet, Hermione?"

She signed, "Yes, I can't think of the anwser."

"We got her mates! The society has outdone the great Hermione!"

"Hey – you don't have to be mean about it!" She exclaimed, getting very defensive.

"Aww, we still love you Hermione!" With that, the ball of light became larger until it was about the same size as her. "Enter, Hermione the wise!" Hermione rolled my eyes again, but stepped forward into the light. As soon as she blinked, she was standing in a very dark and musty room. She blinked several times before her eyes adjusted to the dark. Standing in front of her was her good friend Matthew Andrews; the voice of the glowing ball. Hermione glared at him.

"Oh come on 'Mione!" Matthew laughed as he walked towards her to give a huge hug, "We have been trying to months now to stump you with our questions! And we finally won! I get a night of free drinking courtesty of my dear colleages because of you!"

"I'm glad I get to encourage your drinking habits, Matthew." Hermione said, still a bit put out from the whole ordeal to get into the lodge. She walked over to one of the tables and sat down. "_So_, what is a dragon stone?"

"A dragon stone, my dear Hermione, is a precious stone fabled to be taken from the brain of a dragon." (see note 3) Hermione stared at Matthew.

"That is gross!"

"Gross, but a great power to the holder! Can you imagine what you could do with the information in the brain of a dragon? It would be so cool," he added, sitting in a chair next to her.

"Whatever." Hermione took out her wand and conjured up a cup of tea with two sugars and milk. Taking a sip, she asked Matthew, "So, what do you know about the Carney estate?"

"What don't I know! The Carney estate was originally built in 789 AD, but our research shows that it may have been a military base as early as 478 AD. Rumor has it that King Arthur or one of his cousins may have passed through the base and planed a major assault again the local Saxon village. Unfortunately, the Saxons came back and crushed the town for the battle and many people were killed. It was quite gruesome with decapitated heads and body parts and blood everywhere and –"

"Um, can we skip the details and move forward?" Hermione interrupted him.

"Sure, one-who-does-not-like-blood-and-guts!" Matthew laughed at his joke for a few minutes.

"Are you sure you haven't started drinking already?"

"Ha, ha. So, the town was destroyed. Then, around 600 AD the town began to grow again as farmers came to the region and found the soil good from growing food and plants to raise fat animals on. The first lord came to power around 700 and by 780, he decided that he wanted a nice big estate to show his power. Mind you, Malfoy was not a mean lord, but he was a powerful wizard who liked everyone to know it. A bit full of himself, but all lords were in those days. And today." He added thoughtfully.

Hermione started at Matthew. "Did you just say that a lord named _Malfoy_ was the original builder of the Carney estate?"

"Yes, Malfoy – one of the oldest and most powerful wizard line in the UK – as you know."

"Yes, I know that, but I didn't know that the Carney estate was theirs by blood!"

"Well, why do you think Draco has moved into it?" Matthew seemed to think that this whole situation was quite obvious. Hermione was still confused.

"But why is the estate called the Carney estate?"

"Well, after the first Lord Malfoy, who by the way also had a birth name of Draco, died, it was declared that all of his lands in the region would go to his wife. Her name was Rauma Carney so the estate was renamed Carney. This is where the story gets interesting. Rauma was a powerful witch in her own right and she loved Draco very much. Their personalities were a bit different, but their love brought them together and gave them a happy life. Rauma was so sad about the death of her husband that she became a bit of a recluse." Matthew paused to take a sip of Hermione's cup of tea. "Wow, 'Mione, that's great tea! How did you do that?"

"I'll show you later. So, why does it matter that Rauma became a recluse?"

"Well, that is when the estate took on magical powers."

"What do you mean the _estate _took on magical powers?" she asked skeptically.

"Well," Matthew began slowly, "We are not sure if the estate took on powers iself of if the power was guided there by someone else. You see, there are lines of magic that run through the earth," Hermione nodded – every wizard learned about this in geophysics. "Sometimes, if a wizard or witch gets enough power or enough people, they can move the lines to focus the magic in particular areas."

"Right, the magic is moved and the new lines can provide the ruling house it runs under with more power."

"Exactly. Well, it seems that after Draco's death Rauma decided that she needed more magic in the Carney estate. While Rauma was very powerful from being married to Malfoy and a strong witch herself, many people wanted the Malfoy and Carney power in England. They wanted the rich lands around Reimashire and to associate themselves with the Malfoy family. It is believed that there were many plots again Rauma and her children for their position. One theory is that Rauma brought the Lahti line of magic to the Carney estate to protect her home and family. When thieves or assassins would go into the estate, looking for Rauma, they would disappear and end up hundreds of miles away – even in other countries!"

Hermione perked up at that new bit of information. "It sounds like they encountered the portkeys that I have been studying in old estates!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes, but if that is the case, Rauma did something to the portkeys. When the men would appear at the other side of the portkey, they would either have a limb missing or somehow be changed; like with blue hair or their voice made louder."

"Well, serves them right!" Hermione exclaimed. "Wow, there is a lot more to the estate than I thought. I wonder why Draco never mentioned any of this?"

"You two never talked much – besides, outside of Reimashire, most people don't know about the stories. Actually," Matthew reflected, "most people _in _Reimashire don't know that story. They just know there is a great magical aura around the Carney estate." He signed, "It would be great to interveiw Draco and see what he knows about the estate. I am sure his family has kept some records that would turn this town's history around."

"Yes," Hermione agreed. She got up from the table, "Well Matthew, you have been a great help, as always."

"Anything for my little Hermione!" He said, giving her another hug. "Let me know if you need any more information!"

"Will do!" Matthew took out his wand and began to building the glowing ball again for her to leave. It was a rather odd way for them to transport people, but Hermione guessed they liked the charm of 'walking into the light.'

As she left the old castle (the ball dropped her off where she had entered), Hermione became more egar to see Draco. She wanted to question him on his family and this whole magic line thing. Hermione had never heard of portkeys doing damage to people, but there must be a side effect to the magical line that was moved. Hermione just hopee that Draco really was good now – if that line has enough power to remove limbs from people's bodies, she couldn't imagnie was a wizard like Draco would do with it!

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In case you haven't noticed, I am taking A LOT of liberties with history here! Sorry, but I got lazy and didn't want to do too much research.

Note 1 - Menehune information found online at: http: 2 – Leprechaun information found online at: http: 3 – Dragon stone definition found online at: http:www.polenth. I'm not doing any more research so everything else is made up. 


	4. Tea with Draco

A/N: I do not own the Harry Potter characters; I just love the books!

After a VERY long hiatus, I have updated my story! I'm sure you understand how busy life can get:) Please note that I can only update about every week – two weeks. I will update as soon as I can, but this is a very slow processing story.

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With that new information under her belt, Hermione decided it was time to prepare for tea with Draco. She quickly ran back home to find Ginny already dressed in a pretty, baby blue dress (that was cut a bit low in the front, Hermione thought).

"Finally, you are here!" Ginny exclaimed as Hermione rushed through the door. Hermione had given Ginny a key when she moved out so Ginny would often meet Hermione at home. "We are going to be late!"

"I know, I just wanted to get some background on the Carney estate." Hermione went into her room and began to change clothes. "Did you know that Draco's family was the original owners?"

"No! Really? That is so odd that we never heard anything about it." Ginny took out some lip-gloss to apply. She stopped, "So, Draco really didn't have an alternative reason for coming here, did he?"

"What? What do you mean "alternative"?" Hermione poked her head out the bedroom door. Ginny mumbled something. "What?"

"Oh, you know – maybe he realized how wonderful you, I or normal girls were and decided to come her to fill our fantasies!" Ginny grinned sheepishly at Hermione. Hermione laughed.

"I don't know about you, but none of my fantasies involve members of the Malfoy family!"

"Yeah, but did you _see_ Draco on that horse?" Ginny signed, "He is so much more handsome than he was at Hogwarts. He is more built and his hair is not so stiff anymore, but lightly drapes across his face and…" she trailed off.

"Yes? Have we gone all a flutter out there?" Hermione called. Ginny giggled and put away her gloss.

"No! I just think he is very handsome now and seems to have some good manners too. Just watch at the manor for his tight, little bum and you may start swooning too!"

"Ha!" Hermione opened the door. "How do I look?" Hermione came out of the room in dark maroon top that v-necked into her bosom modestly. Her skirt was black and slightly flared at the knees, which flattered her figure very nicely. Ginny looked her over once.

"Are you sure you don't think Draco's hot?" she giggled at the look Hermione shot her. "Ok, ready to go?"

"Yes. Let me grab my notebook and I'll be set."

"Why do you need your notebook?"

"To ask him questions, of course."

"NO!" Ginny looked horrified. "You are not going to use our first tea with Draco to bore him talking about the history of his home! This is social, remember?"

"But, his house is so interesting! He must love talking about it!" Hermione protested.

"No. If he wants to talk to you about the history of the estate, he can set up a meeting with you." Hermione didn't look convinced. "Please Hermione, trust me. This is not the way to go to tea with a rich, handsome, _single_ man."

Hermione signed. "Ok, I see your point." They began to walk out the door. "So, what are we going to talk about?"

"Hmmm. Well, we can talk about his great body and how he got it looking so great or –"

* * *

About half way through tea, Hermione realized that she could not help but admire Draco's 'muscular body and bum.' 'I am going to kill Ginny when we get home,' she thought as Draco walked to the window with Ginny to show her the garden and she again had to advert her eyes from his bum. Hermione signed and sipped on her tea. All in all, the tea was going very nicely. Draco was in perfect behavior and he and Ginny were keeping a steady stream of conversation about what has been going on since they left Hogwarts.

Apparently, Draco had been traveling around the world doing odd jobs and whatever pleased him since they last met. Now, he was done with his rambles and ready to help with a portion of the family business, which included property management.

"…and I whacked him in the head, knocking him out!" Ginny and Draco laughed as they came back to sit with Hermione. She found it amazing that they were getting along so well, considering their past.

"So, Hermione – you have been very quiet today." Draco stated, looked intently at her. He sure has nice eyes, when there is no evil in them Hermione thought. She smiled.

"I'm sure she is just enjoying your company and estate. It is very handsome." Ginny answered for Hermione. Draco nodded in agreement.

"Yes, my ancestors were very good at designing impressive buildings. I prefer this one to the Malfoy Manor. I think it has more… It is much more interesting." His eyes gazed into Hermione's. The gaze was so strong; Hermione leaned forward toward him to match the stare. "What do you think Hermione?"

"I agree. It is one of the most handsome and _interesting_ estates I have ever seen."

"I am glad you think so." He held her gaze a bit longer and then turned to Ginny. "No doubt Hermione has told you a bit about her history?"

"Yes, she was saying that your family is the original owners of the estate. I hope that you did not come to our town for only that reason." She replied, batting her eyelashes. Draco laughed at her attempt to be coy.

"Of course not! This area is such a prime location for me due to its proximity to London – it allows me to do my business, but still enjoy country life." Ginny's face fell a bit, but she managed to recover.

"Oh, that is very convenient for you." She fidgeted for a moment and then blurted out, "So, are you da-"

Draco interrupted her. "Would you like to see the gardens, ladies?" Again, as his eyes met Hermione's she felt the pull toward him. They stood together, keeping their eyes locked. Hermione smiled.

"That would be wonderful."

* * *

"Wow, I never thought that I would see a garden so beautifully designed!" Ginny exclaimed as the walked the paths in the shadow of the manor.

"Yes, it's amazing what a gardner can do. Of course, they were designed by my ancestor Rauma Carney. She had very specific specifications about how the Manor should be laid out."

"Rauma Carney? What a beautiful name!"

"Yes, it's a variation from the name Reima; defined as one who protects."

"Wow." Ginny breathed. The trio walked in silence, taking in the beauty of the gardens. Suddenly, a load voice was heard yelling.

"DRACO!" The trio turned around. "Where are you, mate?"

"In the garden!" Draco yelled back. Hermione and Ginny looked at eachother. _Who is that?_

Out of the house and down the stars came one of the most handsome men in England. While he was not as tall as Draco, and did not have those sophisiticated maners Draco possessed, he was what most women would call 'a hunk.'

"Wow," Ginny breathed next to Hermoine. "You can have Draco, I want him!" Draco raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Hey Draco, what's going on?" the new man came up to Draco and offered a warm handshake and pat on the shoulder. Draco looked very pleased to see him there.

"Blaise! I am very gald that you could join us today!" Draco turned to Ginny and Hermione. "I'm sure you remember Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasly."

"Your kidding!" Blaise broke into a wide smile and bowed to both ladies. "You ladies look wonderful. Aw, give me a hug – it is so good to see Hogwart girls!" he concluded wraping both girls in a huge hug. His spice colone filled the air and Hermione and Ginny blushed at his openness.

"It is wonderful to see you too Blaise." Hermione said warmly. Blaise had been easy to talk with at Hogwarts and by her final year he had become friends with students in every house. At graduation, he was elected by the students to give the final speech of the future. "I don't think I have seen you in over a year!"

"Two years I think. The last time we met was at the World Cup when Harry was playing!"

"Right! Wow, has it been so long? That was such a good game."

"I know! There hasn't been a game like that in about 300 years! We'll see how England does this year – I heard that Turkey had a new Seeker that is breaking all sorts of records in speed and acuracy."

"Blaise, we were just talking a walk. Do you want to join us?"

"Of course!" Blaise offered his arm to Hermione. "Would you do me the honor?"

Hermione laughed, not noticing Ginny's crestfalled face or Draco's slight scowl. "Of course!" Talking the lead down the path they continued to chat about the past and the present. After a pause, Draco silently offered his arm to Ginny who silently took it. They followed the other couple, watching the conversation turn from subject to subject.


	5. Conversations and a Chance Meeting

A/N: I do not own the Harry Potter characters; I just love the books!

* * *

"Well, you two certainly had a lot to talk about." Draco pointed out as he and Blaise watched Hermione and Ginny walk away from the Manor. Blaise looked at Draco pointedly.

"You always knew that we got along. What, are you now jealous?"

"Humph. No, I just…" Draco paused. Why did he care so much about who Hermione talked to?

"Hermione is such a great girl. I was always surprised by her and what she could do. She can do so much more than magic you know." Blaise stated as the two men walked back into the manor.

"Really." The two men walked in silence for a bit. "So, what are you doing here? London's a bore without me?" Draco joked.

"Of course! Now that the world's most eligible bachelor is gone, there is no good gossip! It's just news about what new trend Ms. Josephine Baker is setting." Draco laughed.

"How is Josephine?"

"Pinning after you, of course! And I don't blame her – not after the way you left her." Draco knew that Blaise was aware of how annoying Josephine was, but was still curious about what was being said.

"The way I left her? What is she saying?"

"Oh, you know. That you told her that she was the only one for you and that you were to be married and then – poof! – you up and leave for your country estate. And of course, it didn't help when she found out that Hermione Granger was here."

"That's not how it happened at all! That girl just wanted to use my name to get her position in society! What a liar." Draco paused. "What does Hermione have to do with anything?"

"You know how jealous Josephine gets. She wants you back and figures that Hermione must be trying to steal you from her."

"But Hermione and I haven't talked since Hogwarts!"

"You know girls."

"So, how long are you going to mooch off of me this time, mate?" Draco asked.

"Hmmmm, how long can I get away with? I was thinking about staying for about a week, but I might stay longer with Hermione and Ginny around. They are very fun girls." Blaise said which a gleam in his eyes. Draco nodded, but didn't say anything. Blaise let it drop. He knew that Draco was trying to deal with forces that went against him as a handsome, wealthy man. It always made him pity Draco while growing up.

Since Draco was handsome and wealthy, people right away assumed that he was a spoiled brat. Because of this, people would always talk about him as though he despised everyone who was not rich and a pureblood. By the time that entered Hogwarts, Draco himself believed what people said. While it only helped to secure the image that was created around him, Blaise knew that it was not really Draco. Draco really didn't care whose someone's family was and if they had money. At Hogwarts most students looked the same. And Hermione showed that you did not need to have a witching past to be a great witch.

Blaise always thought that was the main thing that drew Draco to Hermione. He entered Hogwarts with the belief that people pressed onto him – that he didn't care for non-pure bloods since they were inferior witches. But Hermione was the brightest witch at Hogwarts – much more than most pure bloods. He credited Hermione with bringing him back from that evil mindset that was tearing him apart inside. Of course, he could not show it to anyone – his reputation was too strong. But Draco felt it and it gave him a sense of peace.

Draco even tried once to talk to Hermione, as a normal acquaintance, but by the seventh year her impressions of him had been set in stone. She flatly rejected his advances and later he heard that she thought he was just trying to get into her pants. Blaise talked with him about that situation and, while he was unable to comfort Draco, he was able to get Draco to focus on his studies enough to graduate as top in his class (tired with Hermione, of course).

Looking at Draco, Blaise decided that perhaps Hermione was part of the reason why he choose to come back to his family's estate. Thinking of how he could help Draco show his true self, Blaise came up with a great idea.

"Draco!"

"Yes?"

"Why don't we throw a party?"

"A party? What for?" Draco did not see any reason to invite more gossip about him into society. He had had enough with Josephine.

"To celebrate your homecoming to this wonderful, ancestral estate!" Draco didn't look convinced. "Come on Draco, it'll be fun! When was the last time you had a party that you actually enjoyed?"

"What about unwelcome guests?" Draco pointed out, thinking of Josephine.

"It can just be for people who live in this town." Blaise quickly replied. "You handle most of the property around here, right?" Draco nodded. "This is a great way for them to get to know you. I don't think many know much about you – only that you are rich and _so _good looking" Blaise joked, batting his eyes. Draco laughed.

"Ok, ok. We can have a party. Are you going to plan it?"

"Of course! Leave it all to me! We'll have music and games and drinks and a _wonderful _buffet…"

"Ok, it is all up to you – don't screw it up! I don't want people here to think that I am an awful party planner."

"Ok, I'll lie and say that you planned the whole thing." Blaise laughed.

* * *

A few days later Hermione and Ginny received the following invitation:

_Mr. Draco Malfoy cordially invites your presence _

_at a Carney Estate Ball to celebrate the Malfoy_

_return to Reimashire._

_Please enjoy an evening of dancing, drinking _

_and mouthwatering dishes at the Carney Estate on_

_May First at Eight o'clock in the evening._

_Formal attire is preferred.

* * *

_

A/N: Ok, this chapter is a bit shorter, but I have updated a day after the other one was posted! Yeah! Please let me know what you think!


	6. Ball preperations and a ride with Blaise

A/N: Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed! I am glad that you like everything so far! I will really try to update as soon as possible. As a side note – I am really trying to update about once a week. I started this chapter on Monday and was only 2 pages through by Friday. Please don't kill me, but I will make a one week deadline and post by Friday!  I can't write on the weekend and can only write in half hour segments during the week.

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or it's characters. If I did, I'd be rich:)

* * *

_Mr. Draco Malfoy cordially invites your presence _

_at a Carney Estate Ball to celebrate the Malfoy_

_return to Reimashire._

_Please enjoy an evening of dancing, drinking _

_and mouth watering dishes at the Carney Estate on_

_May First at Eight o'clock in the evening._

_Formal attire is preferred.

* * *

_

The next day, every woman in town was crowding into dress stores to find the 'perfect dress' for the Carney Ball. Fabrics simmered and shined as stressed witches worked to make them match their clients' descriptions. All the men coward in the pub and tried to block out the chatter.

Hermione arrived home that night to find Ginny posing in a deep purple gown with about 30 others hanging around her flat.

"What the—" Hermione gasped as she viewed the spectacle her flat had become. "Did I miss something? What Athena's Garden having a blow-out sale?"

"Oh, Hermione! I am so glad that you are home!" Ginny grabbed Hermione and pulled her to her room. Inside were another 15 dresses of different styles and colours. "I knew that you wouldn't have time this week to get ready so I went ahead and got some dresses for you! We have to bring back the ones we don't want, of course, but dresses were selling out so fast I wanted to make sure that you weren't left with the rejects." Ginny looked very proud of herself as she began to pick up dresses to show Hermione. "Try this one on!"

Hermione changed into the gown offered to her. It was beautiful; a very pale gold silk material shimmered when was moved and sparkled when touched. The wide V-neckline capped her shoulders and rested just low enough to show modest cleavage. At the centre of the V was a gold brooch with a large diamond in it. The dress flowed down, following the shape of her body to her hips where it flowed into a graceful circumference. Since the material was very light, it rippled with everyone movement that Hermione made.

"Wow" Hermione whispered, looking at herself.

"Can I see?" Ginny came into Hermione's room in a midnight blue dress. "Wow 'Mione! That looks great on you!" She turned Hermione around for a full view. "See? Don't I have the best taste in clothes!"

"I admit, you do!" Hermione knew that this gown was made for her. "Ginny this is beautiful! I think I'll let you do all my shopping from now on!" she joked.

"If you do, I'll have to start charging for my expertise." Ginny looked down at herself. "Now, I need your help with me. I can't seem to find anything that looks good."

"Trying to impress someone?" Hermione joked. She was surprised when Ginny blushed. "What? Who? Draco?"

"No! Not that he's not handsome and rich and friendly," Ginny added hastily. "I just want to look good, that's all."

"Are you sure? You're not just being shy?" Ginny shook her head. "Ok. Well, if you want to talk about it, let me know." Ginny looked relived that Hermione dropped the subject and nodded. "Let me get out of this dress and we can start working on you, ok."

"Sounds great." Ginny walked out of the room. "This is my favourite part," she added on the way out, "Trying on dresses is always so much more fun that the balls, you know. You get to the ball and everyone acts all stuffy and sophisticated and no one has any fun!"

"That's not true! We had a great time at the last Ministry of Magic Ball!" Hermione moved very carefully from the gown. She moved extra slow to not ruin any part of it.

"Correction – you had a great time. Talking history and studies and god knows what with other stuffy old men. At least I did get to talk with people my old age!"

"What are you trying to say? That I'm one of the stuffy people?"

Ginny laughed. "I was going to say sophisticated, but since you _did_ say that…" Hermione's door opened and a pillow came flying out to hit Ginny. She doubled over in laughter. "Just kidding, just kidding!"

* * *

The day of the ball was busy with women again running around town – doing their hair and getting last minute 'supplies.' Hermione and Ginny were lucky to grab the last available appointment at Marvellous Maleficent to have their hair, make-up and nails done. Hermione got a simple French manicure while Ginny had her nails done with a moonlight scene that moved across the countryside. Occasionally, an owl would hoot softly from it. "It's like having your own romantic setting," Ginny explained.

Finally, the girls were finished and dressed in their gowns. At 7:45 pm, a knock sounded on the door. Both girls looked up, surprised.

"Where you expending anyone, Ginny?" Hermione asked, moving to the door.

"No, no one." Ginny grabbed her purse and cloak.

"Blaise!" Hermione exclaimed, opening the door. Ginny instantly looked up. "What are you doing here?"

"Why I wanted to escort the two most beautiful women in Reimashire to Draco's Ball, of course! Ladies," Blaise bowed gracefully, "you look gorgeous." At that moment, Ginny came around the door and Blaise was able to get a complete look at her. Ginny decided to dress in a midnight blue gown that shimmered like water on a star-lit lake. It was sleeveless although she had a matching wrap that she loosely draped around herself. The gown itself fit close to her body, down to her hips and stretched for comfort. From the hips down, a bit of extra material was given for movement although the dress remained very form-fitting. Her red hair was darker than normal and brushed to the back of her head were it was allowed to cascade down her back in loose waves. Blaise gawked for a moment before regaining his composure.

"Ginny," he smiled, "you look very pretty tonight." He took her hand and gave it a kiss. "Very pretty." Ginny blushed. Blaise looked back to Hermione and offered her his arm. "Shall we?" Hermione nodded and took his arm. Blaise turned back to Ginny, "Ginny?" She took his arm as well and they moved outside. Hermione laughed.

"A horse-drawn carriage?"

"Of course! What better way to arrive at a ball?" Blaise asked, as if this was the most natural thing. Hermione nodded, but didn't say anything. She knew that most girls would be arriving in limousines they rented for the occasion to look posh. When they saw Hermione and Ginny arrive with Blaise (another gentleman for whom the women about town were trying to catch the attention of) in nothing other than a carriage, they were going to try to grasp when this change in transportation to ball occurred. Hermione just shrugged and stepped into the carriage. Ginny and Blaise followed and sat opposite each other with Blaise next to Hermione. The carriage began its journey.

* * *

For a bit of time Hermione and Blaise continued a steady conversation which Ginny offering her points every once in awhile. Finally, Blaise asked, "What do you girls think of Draco?"

Hermione felt a bit off-guard with the question. "Well… I…um…" Ginny interrupted.

"I think he is a great guy. I really don't believe that someone as nice as you could be friends with someone who is otherwise. I am surprised at the change in him, but I think he started acting different by the time he graduated from Hogwarts. Am I right in thinking this Blaise?"

Hermione was surprised at Ginny's statements. Draco had begun to act differently at Hogwarts? How? When? She tried to think back to their final year and how they treated each other. Truthfully, she couldn't remember much of him that year. She frowned, slightly. Well, there was that one time when he tried to talk to her in Seventh year.

Draco had come up to her out of the blue and said, "I would like you to meet me tonight by the lake. I want to tell you something." Although it was more of an order than request, she went to the lake and met with him. There, he tried to hug her and said something along the lines of that for a muggle-born she could be ok. At the time, she was furious at him and kneed him in the groin for the hug. Hermione frowned deeper. Had Ginny noticed something in him that she didn't?

She looked up to find Ginny and Blaise watching her. "Are you ok, Hermione?" Hermione shook her head.

"I'm fine. I… I was just remembering something I left at work."

"It is that important?" Hermione knew Ginny didn't believe her for a second.

"No, I just remembered it now, that's all." Ginny didn't look convinced. Neither did Blaise. "Come on guys! Just forget it and let enjoy the rest of the ride. What where we talking about?"

"Dr-" Ginny started.

"Hogwarts." Blaise interrupted. Ginny looked confused, but Blaise quickly winked at her which sent Ginny into blushes. "What do you remember most about Hogwarts?" The conversation continued until the trio reached the Carney Estate.

* * *

A/N: Ok, this isn't as long as normal, but I have to stop this chapter for now. I will start the next one and go through the Ball.:) If I don't post again today, you can expect it by next Friday at the latest. 


	7. Carney Estate Ball

A/N: Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed! Especially MIDNIGHT-PIXIE and JewelBlossom. You two keep me inspired! I really did try to get another chapter out Friday, but (alas) I ran out of time. Then, my computer froze and erased about a page of good stuff! sigh

Please feel free to give any suggestions of what you would like to see more or less of or any aspect you would like to see expanded.

Oh, I also realized that I have switched from first person to third person! (Duh!) I have fixed the old chapters now so if you read the complete story it makes more sense.

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. If I did, I'd be rich:)

* * *

As the carriage drove into the Carney Estate, Hermione and Ginny were able to view the grandeur of Draco's home. The trees around the estate was filled with fairy-flies, a dragonfly that showers sparkling dust has it flies around. As they neared the estate, the sun began to dip below the surface, causing a beautiful red sunset that streaked the sky in colour. Behind the estate, Hermione could see the fog creeping into place to add mood to the night. The closer they got to the estate, the dreamier the scene became. While Hermione knew that this was a spell to captivate the viewer, she had to admit she was caught up in the dream. Thankfully, the spell broke as the carriage entered the final gates before Draco's mansion. While a dream is lovely, Hermione did not want to wake up tomorrow thinking she had dreamt Draco's ball.

Their carriage joined the line dropping Reimashire citizens off and immediately received many stares. As no one could see who was in the carriage, Hermione found it amusing to watch the expressions of those persons looking at them. Several women smiled at the sign of a carriage arriving at the ball, appreciating the act. Others sniffed and turned away to approve their own limos or luxury cars. Finally, their carriage arrived at the grand entrance.

As soon as Blaise stepped from the carriage, many women's expressions changed. Disapproval turned to surprise, which then turned into eager looks of flirtation. Blaise looked around a moment and flashed a bright smile, which only made several women blush and giggled to their girlfriends. He then reached into the carriage. First Ginny stepped out, with the help of Blaise's hand. Her midnight blue gown sparkled and shimmered in the soft light of the estate. As she stepped to the ground, Blaise bowed and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. Ginny blushed, looked down, and then again at Blaise with a smile. Blaise held her look for a moment before retrieving Hermione. She, of course, received no kiss, but accepted Blaise's arm to be led into the estate. Ginny grasped to his other side.

As their walked up the stairs among whispers of who they were, what they did, and _how on earth did they know Blaise?_! Hermione could not help but feel like royalty. The women of Reimashire had never been rude to Hermione, but they never invited her into their inner circle of girlish gossip. Not that she cared; to Hermione her life was work and her friends were those around her of like mind (and Ginny). Hermione looked ahead of her when the crowd at the top of the stairs parted with more girlish whispering and giggles. As she watched, Draco appeared before them.

Hermione couldn't help but think that he looked particularly handsome in a tailored tuxedo. It was a very simple coat, pants and shirt, but one could tell that it was worth more than most people's wardrobes. His gaze immediately fell to her and her face grew warm as he looked from her hair to her toes. A bit self-conscious, she drew her cloak closer around her body to distract herself from his inspection. While one does not want to look unpreventable, it is a bit unsettling when an old enemy looks at you like an attractive woman. Draco noticed her unease and turned to Blaise and Ginny and the trio approached.

"Welcome home, Blaise! It took you long enough to arrive. I was afraid that you decided to steal these two lovely ladies for your own design." Draco winked at Ginny. Thankfully, Ginny had blushed enough for the day that she just turned pale at Draco's reference to Blaise and herself. "Please come in! We are beginning with a great meal that my cook designed. I would love for all of you to share my table." Draco's eyes fell upon Hermione's again for a moment. He moved aside to gesture to them, "Please! Come in!"

Hermione, Ginny, and Blaise moved inside (and through the growing crowd) towards the grand dinning hall. Draco touched Hermione's back as she passed, but when she turned around, he was distracted as more guests arrived. Watching him for a moment, she found that he was very gracious and polite to everyone guest, no matter what their status might be. She smiled sadly, thinking of the pain he caused her at Hogwarts. Draco looked up at Hermione. He smiled at her, but Hermione just turned towards the dinning hall again.

* * *

Dinner overall was a very pleasant affair. Draco was only able to sit down for a moment as different people kept calling him over for conversations. Hermione, Ginny and Blaise enjoyed their meal immensely and then enjoyed talking about who was there, what they were wearing and with whom they would hook up with. Suddenly Hermione saw Matthew and her mother making their way to their table.

"Hey Hermione! How did you get a seat at the host's table? I didn't realize that you knew Draco so well. Your mum and I were thinking that you didn't come, but then we see you here!"

"Hi Matthew, hi mum." Hermione mentioned to Blaise. "Have you met my friend Blaise yet?" Matthew and her mum shook their heads. "Mum, Matthew Andrews, this is Blaise Zabini." Blaise stood to shake hands. "Blaise was a student from Hogwarts as well and a friend."

"It's very nice to meet you Blaise." Matthew shook hands with him and gave a little wave to Ginny. "Have you moved into town as well?"

"No, I am just visiting Draco. He's the best friend a guy can have." Blaise laughed.

"Yes, when you can visit him in homes like this!" Matthew laughed, agreeing. "But, seriously, it's nice to know that a pure blood with Draco's reputation is really a good guy." Blaise smiled, but didn't say anything. He turned to Hermione's mother.

"So you are Hermione's mum? I can see where she gets her good looks from." He added, winking devilishly.

Hermione's mum giggled. "My, you are the charmer! Now, I see why so many girls fall for the handsome Blaise." She took a seat next to Blaise, between Hermione. "Now, why did you and Hermione never get together?" Hermione moaned, but before she could intervene, Matthew took her attention away as he sat down next to her in Draco's chair.

"So, have you found out anything about the portkeys and secret passages in the Carney Estate? You know how big of a discovery that would be for you to find out how the power has been arranged here and if we should fear the property!" Hermione looked uncomfortable.

"Matthew, of course I want to find out what is going on, but I can't just make any findings public knowledge! What if Draco or his family objects? This is something very secretive and I can't just barge into their personal lives!" Matthew just shrugged and took a bite from Draco's plate. Hermione thought she was going to die of embarrassment at her friend's behaviour.

Thankfully, at that moment, the orchestra began to play. Matthew perked up right away. "All right – music! Aww, they are playing it all wrong!" he ran off to conduct the conductor. Hermione made a mental note not to invite Matthew to any formal parties that she gave in the future to prevent herself from further embarrassment. She turned back to Blaise and her mother. By now, Ginny was dying of surprised laughter at the situation. She knew what Hermione's mother was like and how dedicated she was to the quest to finding Hermione a husband. Seeing that Hermione had tuned into the conversation again, Ginny could no longer help herself (and decided it was time to save Blaise).

"So, Mrs. Granger, what do you think of Draco Malfoy as a possible match for Hermione?" Hermione stared at Ginny, shocked. What was she doing? Watching Ginny laugh, Hermione's shocked look turned into a glare. Blaise just looked relieved and was not willing to say anything to bring Mrs. Granger's attention back to him.

Mrs. Granger looked surprised. "Mr. Malfoy? Draco? Well, I never thought of that. I mean, I remember the nasty stories Hermione would always come home with about him and what he would do to her." Blaise looked at Hermione surprised. Hermione looked ashamed. "Well, maybe he just _liked_ Hermione! Yes, that must be it! Now we see what a lovely gentleman he is and why wouldn't he love my Hermione!" She began to get excited. "Ginny, you are right – Draco is a perfect match for Hermione!"

Ginny started to protest, "No, I didn't mean "

"Where is Draco?" Mrs. Granger stood up, "I must met him and talk with him about you Hermione. Please sit up dear and try to be nice to Draco." Hermione stared stupidly at her mother. "He may have been mean in the past, but he is such a nice gentleman and a very well positioned one as well! Stay here." Mrs. Granger began to walk towards Draco. Hermione began to protest, but all of a sudden felt very weak in her knees.

Thankfully, Draco saw Mrs. Granger coming towards him. As Hermione watched, he looked up at her for a moment. A couple passed between her and Draco and suddenly, he was gone. Mrs. Granger stopped, confused. Hermione watched as well, thankful that he got away, but a bit confused at his disappearance. After a moment, Mrs. Granger chanced direction to retrieve her husband at another table.

* * *

Soon, Ginny and Blaise made their way to the ballroom for "a few dances and to socialize." Hermione declined their offer for her to join them and instead finished her coffee while watching the couples around her converse and make their way to the ballroom. Dancing held no interest to her now and she enjoyed just looking at the estate. Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in the architecture and engravings.

Curiously, one of the engravings seemed to be moving. As Hermione watched, an engraving of a mouse walked along the wall. Perplexed, Hermione walked towards the mouse. It looked at the mouse was make of plaster and even seemed to have a very stylized tail that curled up. As she came closer, the mouse froze. Hermione stopped. After a moment, the mouse began to walk again toward the main hall. Hermione let it walk ahead of her and waited until it turned the corner into the hall. Looking around, Hermione saw that no one had noticed the moving plaster. With overwhelming curiosity, Hermione moved into the main hall.

Following the wall, Hermione saw the mouse walking ahead about 50 meters. "Wow, he sure moved quickly." She thought as she followed him. She giggled to herself. All the women in the town were in Draco's ballroom, trying to present themselves to him and he was in his hall, following a mouse! "My mother would die at my priorities," she thought.

Closer and closer Hermione walked towards the mouse. He seemed to have stopped in front of a small door under the main staircase. Hermione looked down at him. He was no longer moving. She waited about five minutes. Still, he did not move. Hermione sighed. "Why did you walk out here?" She wondered aloud. She looked at the mouse. She looked at the door. She looked back towards the party. When she looked again at the mouse, she noticed that his tail was no longer curled. Instead, it was curved to form a sentence.

"Open the door." Hermione read. She looked at the mouse with surprise and wonder. "Why?" The mouse just looked at her.

The tail wrote again: "Draco."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Disappearing Draco delivered downstairs."

"What?" Hermione did not understand. Nevertheless, she was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with Draco's sudden disappearance. She looked again at the mouse, but stepped back. He was gone from ground. Swirling around, she found him on the door, above the handle. Again, the tail said, "Open the door."

Hermione finally did and disappeared into the darkness beyond.

* * *

Several hours later, after Draco's speech to his guests welcoming them for their company, the evening ended and people began to leave. Finally, there was just Ginny, Blaise and Draco remaining. Draco came up to Ginny and Blaise, who were enjoying another glass of wine and laughing.

"Have you guys seen Hermione?" Ginny and Blaise both looked stupidly at Draco.

"What?" Ginny asked, confused. "She isn't here?"

"No, I haven't seen her since dinner."

"Maybe she went home." Ginny said, turning back to Blaise.

"No, her cloak and purse are still here." Draco produced both objects to Ginny and Blaise. They started for a moment at the items and then at Draco.

"Where is she then?"

* * *

Ok, I will end it here! I hope that you enjoyed the ball, although Hermione has been a bit distracted from the normal Ball events. Please read and review and offer suggestions or comments or what you like, want to see more of, want to see less of etc. 


	8. Search for Hermione

A/N: Ok, ok – most of you don't like cliff hangers:) On that note, I will try not to do it again, although it is hard when your chapter finishes then! If it does happen again I will just try to update quicker.

Thanks though to everyone who has reviewed! I see some more people are coming on board which is very nice! I appreciate all of your comments.

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

* * *

Unaware of how much time had passed, Hermione continued to follow the dark hall in the Carney Estate and the little marble mouse. She had no idea how long she had been walking, but her feet began to hurt on the cold stones. Finally, she stopped. The mouse looked up at her and pointed to continue.

"No," Hermione insisted. "My feet hurt. If I had known that was how my night was going to be spent, I would have worn different clothes." She looked down at her lovely gown. Even in the dark light, she could see that the edges had been worn and some dirt was rubbing off on the fabric. She signed. No longer thinking that Draco was anywhere down there, she turned around. "I'm going back." After a moment (she half expected the mouse to argue with her), she turned around and headed back to the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Draco, Ginny and Blaise were conducting a very busy and frantic search. They went through the main hall, its side rooms and the kitchen (the house elves were shocked at the intrusion and ran over each other trying to help the three wizards). They went upstairs. They searched downstairs. Finally, in a fit of desperation, Draco suggested they search the gardens. "Perhaps she got lost in one of the mazes." The group walked out to the garden. Draco issued a spell and the garden lit up with tiny lights in the bushes.

"You and Ginny search the east side, I'll look in the west." Draco ordered the couple. Blaise knew that Draco did not want anyone else to get stuck in the gardens so he agreed and followed Ginny to the left side stairs. They soon disappeared into the garden paths. Draco signed and started to the right to look for Hermione there. He should have never left Hermione from his sight, he thought as he began to follow the garden paths. When he saw Hermione's mother coming towards him, he apparated to his room for about a half hour. While he did not mind talking with Mrs. Granger, Draco had already had to endure young women's flirts and older women's (boring) conversation. At that point, he just wanted to lie down and relieve his mind before the host speech.

Coming downstairs to give his speech, Draco noticed that the house was on particular guard. His ancestors took many steps to protect the Malfoy and Carney families and he knew that they were nervous about this ball. He had tried to follow the proper procedures of providing the house with biographies of each guest, but it was still on guard. Walking into the dinning hall, Draco noticed that several figures were even moving – quite openly he thought. Thankfully, no one seemed to noticed the moving figures, but were enjoying their evening. That enjoyment was further expressed to Draco during his speech and afterwards as people talk with him. Finally, as they began to leave, Draco noticed that Hermione was missing from the ball. His house was not helpful in his quest as it was too guarded to give anyone helpful information.

Draco realized that he had stopped walking in the garden. Looking around, he saw that he was at the entrance to one of the garden mazes. He walked inside, hoping to find Hermione; wondering where she could be.

* * *

Hermione was getting rather tired and annoyed at the dark passage. While she wanted to explore the Carney Estate, this was not what she had in mind. Her feet hurt and it pained her to think that her gown was being ruined. "Ginny is going to kill me when she sees the gown." She thought grimly. She wished she knew what time it was. Ginny would get worried if she didn't show up soon. "Unless her and Bliase found more in common then just a love for conversation." She laughed to herself. Finally, Hermione saw a door in the hall, to her left. It seemed odd to Hermione since the door she entered in was a the end of the passage. Are there more than one entrances to this passage? Just wanting to leave, Hermione opened the door. There was a bright flash and Hermione felt her body being pulled toward it sharply. She was barley able to gasp when she fell unconscious.

When Hermione awoke, she knew that she was not inside the estate any more. Under her was a hard, cold slab of granite. Above her, Hermione just saw the stairs, shinning very bright. She tried to move, but found that her body would not respond. "I must have been put under a stunned spell," she thought. "But why? I was trying to leave the passage. That could not have been too bad."

She found that she could lift her head and looked down at herself. Everything looked to be normal. She put her head down again, relived. She didn't want to think that one of the transforming spells of the estate had be used. That would have been particularly bad if she was taken somewhere and had her legs transformed into hoofs or something like that. She tried to move again, but a particularly bad headache hit her. "Ok, I'll just lie her for a minute." She was getting a bit cold, but it was better than the way her head was hurting.

To her right, Hermione suddenly heard a noise. "Hermione?" The bush asked. Hermione began to shake from the cold and her confusion. She didn't say anything, but laid still on the stone. The voice came closer. "Hermione? Are you here?" It sounded familiar. She became aware of a light shinning through the bush and suddenly saw the silhouette of a man. "Hermione!"

Hermione couldn't move, but just watched at the figure came closer. Finally, she saw that it was Draco. Relief spread through her body. "I am still near the estate. I have been found. Draco can help me move again." She thought. Draco came to her looking very distraught.

"Were have you been? We have been searching everywhere for you!" Draco came over to Hermione and pull her up towards him. Seeing that she could not support herself, he leaned her against him. His arm supported her around her shoulders and she could feel him shaking. She closed her eyes and relaxed against his body for a moment. Finally, she looked up into his worried eyes.

"I got lost." She admitted. She was not sure if Draco would get angry that she wandered around the estate, but figured she could not keep anything like this from Draco. "I saw a mouse figuring moving in the dinning hall and decided to follow it. He took me to this doorway underneath the main staircase and said that you were inside." Draco frowned. "Well, he implied that you were there. So, I went inside and was walking for such a long time. Finally, I told the mouse that I was going to turn back. I opened the first door I came to. I was pulled toward it and there was bright light. When I woke up, I was here." Hermione felt exhausted. "I can't move my body, Draco!"

Draco quickly put his jacket around Hermione. She melted into the warmth of the jacket and the smell of his cologne. Suddenly, she realized that she could move again. She lifted her arm in wonder, but let it drop right away. She was still exhausted.

"I don't know why I am so tired!" She confessed to Draco. "I just walked for a bit!."

Draco looked guilty. "I think my estate is to blame for that. You probably know already, but the house is very powerful and there are a series of traps to protect my family for enemies." Draco looked down at Hermione and gently brushed some loose stands of hair from her face. Hermione smiled up at him. "I am very confused as to why they took you though. You were not a threat to anyone and they know that you are a friend of mine! I am very disturbed by this."

"Draco, I'm sure the house was just very worried with all of the people around." Hermione wished that he would just be quiet and hold her. She felt so comfortable in his arms and didn't want to do anything than just be there with him.

"Yes, but I need to be sure this doesn't happen again." Draco started to raise from the bench. Hermione started to rise as well, but fell back when she felt too weak. Draco immediately swept her up in his arms.

"No- I'm ok." Hermione stammered. Draco looked down at her.

"You can barley move your arm! No, we are going back to the house so that you can get warm and a doctor can look at you. Then we will put you to bed."

"Bed?"

"Yes, I have more than enough rooms for you to stay in. I do not feel comfortable for you to leave the estate in the condition you are in. You must stay until you get better."

* * *

A/N: Ok, I have completely ran out of time so I will post this now. It is the weekend, but I will try to get my next update in by mid-next week. I hope you are enjoying it! 


	9. Settling in for the Night

A/N: Thank you Starinthenight, MIDNIGHT-PIXIE and mish-serenity for your reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm trying for more romance, but I'm new at writing these things down. Please help me out! I'm reading other stories for help. ;) I got some kissing in though:)

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters.

"But, I'm sure I'll be fine! You don't need to call a doctor." Hermione felt odd, riding in Draco's arms. She felt that he must get tired of holding her and again struggled to get down. Draco just tightened his grip on her and his face became unreadable. Unprepared for that reaction, Hermione stopped struggling. Her face grew warm with embarrassment. "He's just trying to help me," she thought. Finally, Draco spoke.

"If you don't think a doctor is necessary, I'll perform some healing spells." Hermione nodded. His face was still unreadable. "But, I insist that you stay with me until you get better."

"That's fine." Hermione agreed. They continued to the house in silence. When they reached the stairs leading into the hall from the garden, Hermione spoke softly. "Thank you, Draco." Draco's features softened and he smiled, but continued to look ahead as they walked into the nearest room.

There, they interrupted Ginny and Blaise. Thankfully, Draco was too preoccupied to noticed their dishevelled appearance, but Hermione raised an eyebrow to Ginny and tried to hide her giggles.

"Hermione! Where have you been?" Ginny rushed to Hermione's side as Draco put her down on a fainting couch. "We were so worried about you! Well, Draco was pretty frantic," she added, seeing Hermione's look. Hermione laughed.

"I'm fine. I just…" Hermione didn't know what to say. She looked towards Draco. "I just got a bit lost, that's all."

"See?" Ginny looked to Blaise. "I knew that she would be ok." She turned back to Hermione. "But, leaving the ball to go walking in the garden! Come on Hermione!" She looked Hermione over. "Well, at least you didn't ruin your gown."

Hermione looked at herself, surprised. It was true – the edges of her gown were in perfect condition. They even seemed to glow and sparkle a bit more than before. Hermione opened her mouth to question this, but decided against it. "I can ask Draco later," she thought.

"Well, I guess now that you're back, we should head out." Ginny said. She looked disappointedly at Blaise and then back to Hermione.

"Actually Ginny, I broke my ankle in the garden so Draco is letting me stay the night – until I get better." Ginny brightened.

"Really?" She looked to Draco who nodded. "That is wonderful! I mean – that is so nice of you to do that for Hermione, Draco."

"It's really no problem. I feel responsible that Hermione got hurt on my grounds. I would hate to see her suffering at home with my 'special touch.'" Blaise gaffed at this comment, but stopped at Draco's glare. He stood up and moved towards Ginny.

"Well, if that is the case, do you mind if we retire for the night as well?" Blaise didn't wait for Draco's response as he began to led Ginny towards the door. Draco waived to them, distracted as he prepared tea in the corner. Blaise smiled brightly towards Hermione.

"Goodnight 'mione!" Blaise said with a wave.

"Goodnight Blaise. Goodnight Ginny." Hermione replied as the couple disappeared around the corner. She smiled to herself. It was good to see that Ginny and Blaise were getting along so well. She found both to be such good people and liked to idea that she would be able to spend more time around both.

"Here's some tea, Hermione." Hermione jumped when she realized that Draco was standing right next to her. He sat down on the couch with her and handed her a tea cup and saucer. "Milk and sugar?"

Hermione's heart started pounding. "Why? Have I exhausted myself to much?" Of course, she knew better. As she looked up at Draco, her stomach began to flutter to match her heart. She quickly took the tea and cleared her throat. "Yes please. Two sugars and some milk." They were produced and Hermione quickly took a sip of the tea (burning her tongue in the process). She smiled weakly at him. "Thank you."

"Of course." Draco took a sip of his own tea and stayed on the coach with Hermione. They both started around the room for a moment before meeting each other's eyes again. Hermione stared into his steel grey eyes. She felt herself being pulled toward him – toward those eyes. The were so caring, so calm, but underneath there was something else. Something he was trying to repress. Something…

"Ahem." Hermione was startled. Her face was just a few inches away from Draco's. His eyes were closed and she noticed that he was breathing quickly. She straightened and turned towards the intruding person. A small house elf looked up at her. He was an older house elf, one that processed an amazing about of confidence.

"Yes?" Draco asked. His eyes were still closed, but Hermione noticed his fist was clenched on the couch.

"Miss' room is ready sir." The house elf bowed. "Does master need us to bring her upstairs?" Draco opened his eyes and looked at the elf.

"No. I will take her myself." The elf nodded and disappeared. Draco looked again at Hermione and stood up, a bit awkwardly. "Are you ready?"

"Um, sure." Hermione put her cup of tea on a nearby table. Draco reached down and lifted Hermione up again. She rested her arms around his shoulders for better support as they headed into the hall. As they moved through the hall, Hermione noticed a mist that followed them to the staircase. Above the mist, the ceiling turned into a night scene with beautiful constellations and comets. The candles were put out behind them and the great hall went to sleep.

Ahead of them, candles lit to guide Draco through the halls. Portraits of family stared down at them; some smiling and waving hello, other grumpy and trying to sleep. Hermione found this group of portraits interesting. It was obvious that not all of these people were Malfoys – some must be Carneys. At the end of the hall, Draco came to a set of double doors. Across from the door was a picture of a women. She was seated in front of the Carney Estate and looked quite regal in Hermione's mind. Her dark brown hair was pinned back into a loose bun and her green gown was modest, but showed her beautiful figure. Most noticeable to Hermione was that she held her wand in her lap. Hermione guessed that the portrait was very old- maybe from the time of Rauma and it was very odd for women to be shown with their wands.

"Who is that, Draco?" Hermione asked before they could enter the room. Draco looked to where Hermione was pointing. The women smiled warmly at Draco, but didn't say anything.

"That is Rauma, my ancestor. She was a very powerful witch and cast most of the protection spells around this estate." Then entered the room. "This was her private room." Hermione looked around.

The ceiling was enchanted to show a clear, starry night. A fire was lit in the marble fireplace in the corner and a fire screen in front of the fireplace sparkled with green emeralds. A reading chair was nearby with a great bookcase close to that. On the other side, a large, canopy bed was placed. A silk, deep emerald quilt covered the bed while light green and white sheets and pillows were beneath it. The canopy above the bed was a very light green sheet of silk. A window next to the bed let in the soft moonlight and Hermione could hear the running of a nearby river.

Draco set Hermione down on the couch by the fireplace and went to the bed to get it ready for her. Hermione looked at a book that was left on a nearby table. "Secret Magic Passages in Muggle England." Hermione smiled as she looked at the author, "Hermione Granger." She had written the book as part of her doctorate thesis at university. It was very well received in the magical community and gave Hermione a sense of pride at being able to combine muggle and wizard histories.

Hermione looked up from her book to see Draco staring at her. Again, she could see something in his eyes; something she could not understand. The look made her feel nervous; it made her stomach flutter and made her want to feel him – to make him understand that everything is ok. Draco walked toward her and she could feel a bond building with him. Not a normal connection, but something else – something she couldn't describe. Her heart began to beat faster as Draco stopped in front of her to pick her up. As he bent to pick her up, his head came close to her neck and she felt his breath on her skin. It was warm and gave her goosebumps of pleasure. Hermione inhaled and smelled Draco's cologne. It was a combination of woodsy and musk. Hermione began to feel as if she was getting lost in Draco's presence. She felt herself being picked up and brought to the bed. Draco laid her on the bed and helped her take off her shoes. He then began to lift up her gown. Hermione was startled.

"What are you doing?" Draco stopped and looked at her, surprised at the outburst.

"I need to examine you, remember? You didn't want the doctor, but I still want to be sure that you are ok.." He looked a bit flustered, but pressed on. "I need you to change into some night clothes so I can look at you better. You can do it yourself," he added hastily, "but I need to look at you before you go to sleep."

"Oh. Ok." Hermione looked around. "Where are the night clothes?"

Draco walked towards a wardrobe. "Here is a nightgown. Will it work?"

"Yes, thank you." Draco turned around as Hermione moved to get out of her dress. Finally, she had to ask., "Draco, can you please unzip my dress?" Hermione felt her face go red.

"Of course." Draco came over to the bed where Hermione was sitting up. He was in front of her and sat down facing her. Hermione's eyes widened as his face came closer and closer and closer… and then moved to the side as he put his arms around her to unzip her dress. Her face was against his chest as his hands felt her back for the zipper. He touched her shoulders and followed the neck of the dress down to the zipper in the middle of the back. Then, slowly, he began to unzip her gown. Hermione's heart was racing at this point as she felt his fingers touching her back to separate the material as the zipper came undone. When the zipper reached the bottom, Draco's fingers lingered for a minute on her bare skin. She could felt his rapid breath on her neck as he turned his face into her. His hands moved back up her back and she felt her hair being moved from off her shoulders.

A soft moan escaped her lips as Draco's lips came into contact with her skin. He gave her gentle kisses on her shoulder as his hands moved over her shoulder and up to her head. He turned her head toward his as his lips moved from her shoulder up her neck. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned back on the bed, lost in the pleasure. Draco followed her and finally his lips met hers.

Hermione had never had a kiss like this one before. As their lips came together, Hermione suddenly felt as if she could not have enough of him. Her lips parted and Draco's lips pressed against her as his tongue explored her mouth. She moaned and gasped and pulled Draco closer to her; not getting enough of him. Draco was now on top of Hermione and she could feel the weight and warmth of his body. Hermione moved her hands down his back and lightly scratched him as he sucked on her lower lip and moved again down to her neck. Each kiss left Hermione's skin with a tingle and an addiction for more – for him. She brought his face up again to kiss his wonderful lips. Draco complied and again they had a series of whirlwind kisses.

Breathing heavily, Draco stopped and looked into Hermione's eyes. She smiled at him and kissed him gently on the lips. He relaxed and kissed her again; first lightly and then with more urgency. He pulled away again. Breathing deeply, Draco stood up. Hermione looked at him confused.

"I'm sorry Hermione. I don't want to start anything like this. I want you to know that you mean more to me." Draco looked down at her guilty.

Hermione smiled. "I understand." Draco nodded and began to leave the room. Hermione bit her lip, wanting to call him back to her. As he reached the door, she saw Draco pause. Hermione held her breath, but didn't say anything. Draco opened the door and exited the room, leaving Hermione with an overcharged libido.

Hermione left out a deep breath that she had been holding. Her body was shaking in sexual anticipation, but nothing more was to come. She smiled and touched her lips where Draco had kissed her. She began to undress from her gown and felt her stomach flutter as she touched her back where Draco had. Finally, she got into the nightgown and laid down for the night. She turned off the light and feel into a deep sleep, dreaming of those minutes with Draco's body against hers.

A/N: All right! They are getting it ON:) HEHEHEHEHE! I hope you liked this scene! It's my first kind of kissing/love scene so please let me know how it's going!


	10. An unwelcome visitor

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry that it has taken over a week to update – I have been _SO_ busy with work.

Thank you Erin, crystal-lies, Starinthenight, robin777, and JewelBlossom for your reviews. Where is MIDNIGHT-PIXIE? ;) I was so happy to get your reviews so quickly after I updated! I'm glad you liked the chapter – I never written stuff like that so it makes me happy that you liked it!

Of course, now that they had a kiss I have to mix things up to keep it interesting. ;)

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters

* * *

Soft sunlight work Hermione the following morning. As she moved her body, Hermione again was reminded of her kiss with Draco the previous night. She smiled and snuggled into the bed more – savouring the moment. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked around. The room was surprisingly bright with the windows open and a cool breeze drifting in. The light canopy moved softly in the breeze and Hermione looked up at the ceiling, which showed a beautiful blue sky with clouds floating by. Hermione felt so comfortable in the bed, but decided (after a few more minutes) that she needed to get out of the bed and begin her day.

As she put on a terry-cloth robe, Hermione heard a knock on the door. "Come in." she called.

Ginny opened up the door and bounded into the room. "Good morning Hermione!"

"Good morning Ginny. Good night?" Hermione asked with a sly smile.

"The best! Blaise is such an amazing guy! We talked all night and this morning went for a walk around the estate together." Ginny was glowing.

"Is that all?" Hermione asked suggestively. Ginny laughed, then turned slightly red.

"Well, no." she giggled again. "Of course we snogged a bit. Oh, Hermione – he is the most amazing kisser! Then he held me in his arms all night. It was perfect!" Ginny got rather flustered and sat down on the bed with Hermione. "So, how was your night?"

"Oh, it was good." Hermione smiled. She wasn't sure what she wanted to share with Ginny right now. To cover any questions she continued, "Can you believe this room? I think it may have some healing powers because I feel perfect today!"

Ginny didn't let Hermione leave it alone. "Are you sure it's the room and not the owner?" Hermione gave her a deadpan look, but Ginny just blinked innocently back. Hermione let out an annoyed sigh, but decided to provide a bit more information.

"Ok, Draco is being very nice." She moved to sit on the bed and leaned back in the pillows. She breathed in deeply, thoughtfully. "He was very nice last night, carrying me everywhere. I couldn't move really so he helped me… er… get ready for bed." She looked quickly up at Ginny who was grinning like an idiot, but not saying anything. Hermione waited a moment until Ginny couldn't stand it any more.

"SO! Did you at least _kiss_ him!"

"Of course I did!" Hermione said quickly. Ginny squealed and bounced on the bed.

"I knew it! I knew it! Even you can't resist Draco anymore! This is bloody fantastic!" Ginny squealed.

"Shhhhh! They'll hear you!" Hermione tried to keep Ginny quiet as she bounced around.

"I don't care!" Ginny finally stopped bouncing and sat down on the bed again with a wide grin. "Well, don't just sit there – get dressed so we can go out!" Hermione groaned, but got ready for the day. Later, she and Ginny went for a long walk around the Carney estate.

* * *

Ms. Josephine Baker was not someone to be made a fool of. As she raced toward the Carney estate, Josephine thought about what could have possibly gone wrong between her and Draco. She had seduced him. She gave him everything he wanted. She was the perfect women in front of his friends. She even pretended to like Quiddish so that Blaise wouldn't give her death stares! And for what? Draco had left London, left her, and we apparently trying to live it up in the elusive Carney estate. She was determined to come to him, since he didn't seem to be coming back to her.

The Malfoy family was the closest to royalty that Josephine could ever get to. They were rich, powerful, and very influential in all parts of wizard society. Her family was very well off, but did not have anywhere near the power that the Malfoy's possessed. Josephine wanted that power more than anything. When she started to court Draco, he wanted power as well, but something changed over the years. He started to care less for power that contributed to his status and more for power to protect and help. By the time Josephine managed to actually start dating him, he was helping our muggle foundations and societies. Josephine didn't understand. Why would you care and want to protect others? What was the purpose?

When she found that Draco had moved back to his ancestral estate, after not hearing from him in weeks, she felt better. He would get back in touch with his roots and come back to London, wanting power and her again. But she waited and Draco didn't come back. She heard that he was settling into the estate and making friends with people in town. She heard he had a special tea with some old girlfriends from Hogwarts. And then, as she was reading the society page of the Daily Prophet, she came across a review of his party. She almost missed it, but tucked in the corner was a small picture of Draco greeting guests at his party. She felt betrayed and angry. He was not coming back to her.

But, she couldn't give up. Josephine had been trying to long to get Draco to lose him to some small town and society. She just needed to marry him and everything would be fine. She would have his money and power and he would have… well, he would have her. What man wouldn't want that!

As her luxury cab arrived at the Carney estate steps, Josephine calmed herself and looked in the mirror. Her blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders in soft waves. Her makeup was perfect and her face glowed. Most men looked at her and saw a beautiful woman with a perfect body and a sexy smile. She frowned at her reflection. What was wrong with Draco?

* * *

"Draco!" Blaise called into his room. "Draco, wake up mate!" Draco stirred in his bed and looked at the door.

"What?" Draco called back, "Come in – don't shout through the door!"

Blaise opened the door and peeked his head in. Seeing Draco alone, he opened the door all the way and walked into the room. Draco sat up and looked at him pointedly. "Expecting to find someone else?"

"Well, yes. What happened last night?" .

Draco yawned, "Hmm. Wouldn't you like to know?"

Blaise smiled. "Come on, Draco. You know you can't keep anything from me."

"Well, I can try." Blaise just stood there. Draco got out of bed and walked over to the toilet. When he came out, Blaise was reading his private journal. "HEY!" He angrily grabbed the book from Blaise's hands.

"Relax mate. I didn't read much." Blaise knew that he was about the only person who could do that and live. "So… you had a great kiss?" Draco groaned and glared at Blaise, who just grinned back.

"Yes. Now, what about you?"

"Of course! Ginny is such a great kisser! I really like her, mate." Draco nodded and moved toward the wardrobe.

"Great. I am glad that you have been here for less than a week and already going to start fights in the town." Blaise laughed. He knew that women fought over him and loved it. Not that he abused that power, but it made him feel great. "Ok, I'm getting dressed – so bugger off!"

* * *

Blaise left Draco's room, still laughing at their conversation. As he walked out to the main hall, he noticed a taxi pulling up to the front steps. Finding that odd that Draco would be receiving a visitor so early in the morning, Blaise stood to see who would exit. After a moment the door opened and out stepped Josephine Baker. Blaise gasped. This was the worst possible person for Draco to see, especially since he was doing so well with Hermione. Draco had done a good thing by leaving Josephine, but it looked like she was not going to give up that easily. Blaise stood there, planning what he could do to get her to leave before Draco came out. Finally, he walked out to great Josephine.

Putting on his friendliest smile, Blaise came down the steps to Josephine. "Good morning Josephine! How are you today?"

Josephine looked up at Blaise. A flash of disgust and disappointment entered her eyes before they became warm and seductive. "Blaise! What a wonderful surprise to see you here!" She waited for Blaise to reach her before giving him a kiss on the check. "You are looking very well!"

"Thank you, Jo. You too." Blaise smiled. He knew that she hated being called anything other than Josephine. Her face briefly twitched, but she recovered nicely.

"I have missed you in London." Josephine complained. "Everything is so _boring_ now that you and Draco are gone." Blaise just nodded. She continued. "I understand that you guys are not so lonely though."

"Really? In what way?"

Josephine pulled out that morning's addition of the "Daily Prophet." "I saw that you had a little party last night." Blaise took the paper and looked at the moving picture of Draco talking to the crowd.

"That's a good picture of Draco, don't you think? He looks so relaxed."

Josephine was getting impatient. "How come I didn't hear about this Blaise? Couldn't Draco invite his girlfriend?"

Blaise looked at her with his best surprised face. "Girlfriend? I though you two broke up a while ago."

"That was just a spat. Nothing serious." Josephine said.

"Well," Blaise began slowly. "I'm not one to gossip, but I think Draco was pretty serious about it. I mean, if he wasn't, I don't think he would have gone to Paris with that girl last night."

Josephine's face became stone. "What girl."

"Um, I can't remember her name. I think she was a princess through – she arrived late and I think they left last night to tour her family's estate in Paris. I understand it is beautiful." Blaise replied nonchalantly.

Josephine stood there for a moment, not saying anything. Blaise could see that she was trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. She would also be scouring her mind, thinking of every royal figure with an estate in Paris. Finally, Josephine spoke again. "I see." She looked up at the Carney Estate, then back at Blaise. "Do you know when Draco will be returning here?

"No," Blaise quickly responded. "I haven't talk with him since the ball last night."

Josephine raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Blimey, Jo! Of course I'm sure. I think I would know if I talked with him!"

"I see." Josephine began to walk back to the taxi. Blaise eagerly followed her. She turned again to Blaise when she reached the door. "Will you please give this to Draco when you see him?" she asked, handing Blaise an envelope. Blaise took it and nodded. Josephine sat into the taxi. "It was nice seeing you Blaise. I'm sure I will see you again very soon."

"Right. See you, Jo." Blaise shut the door for her and watched as the taxi rode from the estate. He sighed. Josephine was determined to get Draco, at any costs. He knew she would be back soon, but hoped he delayed her for at least awhile. He walked back into the estate.

"What did she want?" Draco asked Blaise as he walked in the door.

"You, of course. She said that she is still your girlfriend."

"Ridiculous! That women is too much." Draco groaned and dropped into a near-by chair. "I wish she would just go away."

"Nope, I don't think that will happen very soon." Blaise sat next to Draco. "She is determined to have you and everything that comes with it." He waved to the walls of the estate. Draco groaned again and rubbed his temples. He noticed the envelope in Blaise's hand.

"What is that?"

"Oh, a note or something she said to give to you." Blaise handed it to Draco. After reading it, he groaned again and gave it to Blaise to read.

"Dearest Draco,

I can not tell you how lonely I am without you. Every minute of every day I think of you and how perfect life is when you are around. The other day I started crying when I was walking around the Westminster crypt, remembering how much you liked being there, around all the old, powerful wizards. Someday you will be there and I could be there with you.

"Sick!" Blaise interrupted with a look of disgust.

"I remember the last time we were together. Your hands found my body and I burned with each touch. My clothing fell away as you came into me and we moved as one until the universe exploded with pleasure. I miss that – I miss you!

Please come back to me, my love. I will always be waiting for you.

Love always,

Josephine"

"Wow," Blaise said. "She really knows how to write a letter."

"Ug! Just burn it. I don't want anyone finding that and reading more into it than is really there."

"Right – that would not work very well for you, mate." Blaise took the letter and said a charm to light it on fire. As it began to burn, two eyes looked back at him, then at Draco. "Um, mate?"

"What?"

"I think Jo charmed the letter."

Draco sat up and looked at the letter and eyes. "Oh crap." The eyes blinked and then were gone. The letter finished burning and disappeared. Blaise and Draco looked at each other. Draco groaned. "She's coming back."

* * *

A/N: How do you like this twist? No Hermione/Draco action, but I think this may work well if I can figure it out right! Let me know what you think or what you would like to see more/less of. 


	11. Josephine camps out

A/N: Thank you Erin, LadySnake Starinthenight, Elizabeth Lien, Red and Gold, and robin777 for your reviews. Please feel free to give any suggestions! I am happy that so many new people are liking the story:)

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters

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Hermione and Ginny were walking in the garden when they saw a luxury taxi drive up to the front entrance. After a moment, a beautiful woman stepped out of the taxi and looked up at the steps. Hermione thought she looked familiar.

"Ginny, who is that women?" Hermione asked as they stayed out of sight. Ginny looked up and gasped.

"That's Josephine Baker!" Hermione gave Ginny a blank look. "You know – the Baker family? Her mother, Anna, is the owner of that fashion magazine _Perfect_. I love that magazine. I get all my fashion tips from there." She shook her head. "Anyways, her and Draco dated awhile ago." She frowned. "Everyone knew that she just wanted his family power and money and nobody could figure out why he dated her. I guess we figured that he just wanted someone who liked power as much as his family. Anyways, when he started being nice to people and interested in muggle things, Josephine was furious. She didn't want him to become a charity case- she wanted all the money and power. I'm not sure what she doing here now. I thought they broke up awhile ago – before Draco came here. Actually, from what I understand the last year of their relationship was pretty cold and not really a relationship anyways."

"So, what is she doing here now?" Hermione was confused. Draco kissed her last night and was so wonderful, but now his ex-girlfriend is coming around?

"I don't know." Ginny wondered. She then rushed to comfort Hermione. "I'm sure it's nothing Hermione! Look, there goes Blaise now!" The two girls crept closer to hear their conversation. When that didn't work, Hermione cast a spell that allowed for Ginny and her to have super hearing. A dangerous spell (especially if a plane came by), but a good one for situations like these.

As Blaise teased Josephine, Ginny and Hermione tried to understand what was going on. Finally, Josephine handed Blaise a letter and got into the taxi. Hermione took the spell off their ears quickly.

"What was that? Ginny, was Draco with another girl last night?"

"WHAT?" Ginny shouted. Hermione gave her an odd look and then tried another spell to adjust her hearing to normal. Hermione repeated her question. "Not that I know of. I think we should ask Blaise about this."

The girls went up the stairs that had just been vacated by Josephine and Blaise. As they walked into the Great Hall, they saw Blaise and Draco, collapsed in chairs, groaning.

"What's wrong?" Ginny gasped, running over to Blaise. Blaise groaned loader (as Draco stopped and glared at him) until Ginny was right by him…

"Gotcha!" he yelled as he grabbed Ginny onto his chair for a passionate kiss. After a moment, Draco cleared his throat.

"I'm glad that you can use my problems in such a beneficial manner." Draco sourly stated to Blaise.

"Sorry, mate. I just love to see Ginny jump."

"Anyways…"

"What is going on?" Hermione interrupted. "We just saw Josephine Baker here and heard Blaise telling her that you were in France with some women!"

"Hermione," Draco stood up and walked over to her. Hermione felt her knees tremble as he came to stand over her, but didn't move. Draco signed. "Josephine doesn't want to let me go. She is determined to have me and my money and power." He shook his head angrily. "I don't know what to do! It is over, but she just will not go away!" He looked over at Blaise. "And now, she charmed a letter she gave Blaise and knows that I am here. She will be back any minute."

"So?" Hermione didn't see the problem. "Just tell her to go away!"

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple." Draco began to pace the hall. "Josephine is a determined young lady who will not take 'go away' as a response. She knows I don't love her. She knows she doesn't love me. But, she wants loves every other part of my life!" He stopped and looked at Hermione. "She just won't go away."

"Why don't you just cloak the estate? Then she can't find you."

"Hermione, I'm not going to stop living my life just because a crazy woman will not leave me along. No, we will just have to put up with her until… well, until she gets the idea that nothing will ever happen." Draco sighed and flopped back down into the chair. A few minutes later, the group heard a taxi arrive and a furry of steps coming toward them. The doors to the great hall burst open as a furious Josephine came rushing in.

"DRACO!" Josephine roared as she walked toward them. As she came closer, she looked Hermione and Ginny up and down with distain. Hermione gazed calmly back at her. Josephine met her gaze with furry until, finally, she calmed as well and turned toward Draco. "Draco," she cooed softly. "Did you have a good trip to Paris?"

Draco didn't move from the chair. His face stayed as still as stone. "I didn't go to Paris Josephine."

"Really? But Blaise said that you had left with another woman." Josephine tried to play innocent at the situation.

"He misunderstood."

"So, where were you when I arrived this morning?" Josephine was beginning to get impatient again with the situation. Why wasn't Draco jumping up to greet her? His girlfriend?

"I was more pleasantly engaged, I'm afraid."

Josephine frowned. "Really? I can't image what would be more pleasant than being with your girlfriend."

Draco leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "If you were my girlfriend, it would be pleasant. But, Josephine, you forget that we are no longer dating. I thought I made that quite clear when I left London."

Josephine's face clouded. "Draco, that was just a misunderstanding. You know how – " she suddenly became very aware of the people around them. "Draco, can we please talk in private about this?"

"I don't see why they can not hear what you have to say."

Josephine paused a moment. "Fine. You know how much I love you and would do anything for you. I would even move out of London to some place like this!" She waved her arms around to point to the estate.

"I am sorry that you do not share anything in common with my anymore Josephine. A 'place like this,' as you call it, is my home and I would not move back to London for all the money in the world. I would suggest that if you would like someone to support you in London that you start to groom another man."

Josephine looked shocked at his bluntness. "I am not leaving here Draco until you acknowledge that you love me!"

"That, I'm afraid, is quite impossible since it will never be true."

"We'll see about that!" Josephine began to walk upstairs. At the top, she turned around. "I will be staying in your guest room until you see how good I am Draco. I am the best women you will ever get! You just wait and see all that I can do!" She walked down the hall.

"Where is she going?" Blaise asked after a moment of silence.

"I would assume to figure out what room is closest to mine." Draco said, smiling. Hermione was confused, and furious.

"Why are you _smiling_? She is going to stay here for god knows how long! And right by your room! I can't _imagine_ what she will sneak in to do to you at night!"

"Maybe I should put her room by mine," Blaise joked. Ginny punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

Draco stood up and walked to look out the window. "Ah, but you forget what kind of house this is. As long as I don't want Josephine here, the house will make sure that her stay is the worst one possible." He turned around, grinning. "This actually will work very well for us. If we can handle her for a week, I think that the house will convince her to not want anything to do with me or my family again." He snapped his figures and the elderly house elf appeared. "We are having another guest in the house this week. She will be very temperamental and demanding, but please try to accommodate her." The house elf turned to go away. "Oh! And please make sure that you follow the house clock for all meals and appointments relating to her."

Hermione look to Draco. "House clock?"

"Yes, the house will make sure that she is given nothing but wrong information – at least about our schedules. It's a very small action, but a very annoying one." Draco walked toward the glass doors leading to the gardens. "In the meantime, would you and Ginny like to stay as my guest while Josephine is around? I don't think I could handle it otherwise."

Hermione looked to Ginny, who eagerly nodded. "Of course. But, Draco – I don't think I will be able to be _nice_ to Josephine for a whole week."

Draco laughed. "You don't have to be. Just enjoy it though. I think it will be lots of fun! Now, shall we walk around the gardens and see if we can find some frogs to sing to Jo?"

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A/N: I hope that you like where this is going! If you can think of any other situations, I would appreciate it! And Hermione is staying at the estate still which will bring in some great 'night-time' conversations! ;) 


	12. Singing Frogs, Late Meals and a Midnight...

A/N: Wow! So many reviews so quickly! Welcome marauderbabe289 and Tiarwen! I'm glad you are enjoying the story! Thank you always Erin,LadySnake Starinthenight, Elizabeth Lien, Red and Gold, and robin777! You guys have been wonderful about reading the story and keeping me going:) I am quite inspired to get so many reviews so quickly, but also to see the new reviewers! It's so cool and makes me feel so good!

A/N: I do not own the characters except for Josephine Baker:)

After singing frogs waking her up at 2 am, ferries chasing her in the garden (and into the pond), and all of the furniture in her room being spontaneously moved during the day, night and while she was on top of them – Josephine was close to a screaming fit. She had only been at Draco's estate one day and nothing had gone as planned. After she found her room – right next to Draco's – she fixed it up to just her liking; she changed the dull yellow colour of the room to a brilliant purple and opened a passage in the wall between her room and the next. The next day however, she discovered that Draco was not in the room next to hers! She went around the estate again, looking to put her room next to his. Finally, she found it and again transformed everything to her liking – including the passage between rooms.

Something went wrong though. When she moved through the passage, she did not end up in Draco's room; she stepped out of the passage and right into a pile of horse manure! She was in the stables! Josephine didn't understand what went wrong – she was a very smart witch with her spells, but something must not have worked. Perhaps Draco has a spell around his room, she thought.

After yelling at the local stable elves, Josephine walked to the nearest bench to sit and clean her boots. After stating the spell, she put her foot down – only to find another horse manure patty! Josephine's face twisted at the smell and her disgust at the situation. Taking a claming breath, she cleaned her boots again and looked around to make sure there was no more manure before putting her foot down again. She then apparated back to the main hall to find Draco.

As she walked into the hall, she found Draco, Blaise, Hermione and Ginny talking. As soon as they saw her, all four stopped talking and stared at her. Their shocked faces immediately made Josephine suspicious. Ginny's mouth was open and her eyes wide as she stared at Josephine's head. Hermione raised an eyebrow and frowned. Blaise started laughing, while Draco didn't look surprised at all.

"What?" she asked, her hand immediately flying to her hair. It felt smooth and silky, like normal. Draco walked over to her, with a mirror.

"Look."

Josephine looked in the mirror and screamed. Her beautiful blonde hair was now bright orange with purple dots. As she watched, the purple dots moved to become green stripes, then blue bugs. Josephine began to pant and then looked over at Hermione, who was watching with some amusement.

"You horrible witch!" she screamed at Hermione as she flew at her in a rage. Hermione's eyes opened wide in surprise and then she fell back as Josephine's body came into full contact with hers. Thankfully, Josephine was only able to slap her once before she froze in mid-slap. Hermione looked around her to find Draco with his wand out and pointed at Josephine. With a flick, Josephine's body floated over to Draco. He moved her so that she was standing in front of him, but could not speak or move.

"Josephine," he said very quietly. "If you ever touch Hermione Granger again in anger, I will make sure that you have much more to worry about than just your hair." Josephine's eyes widened in horror. Draco continued, "Furthermore, none of us said any spell to change your hair. I would guess however that you apparated from somewhere in the estate, right? If so, I would strongly recommend against doing it again. This estate does not take kindly to apparitions by anyone other than me. The next time you apparate, you may find that you have changed in much more ways than just your hair. Do I make myself clear?" he asked, releasing her from the spell. Josephine stumbled as her body worked again. She looked up at Draco with wide eyes and nodded.

"I will change your hair back to normal, but only if you apologize to Hermione." Josephine began to protest, but thought better of it. She turned to Hermione, who was now standing with Ginny, nursing her bruised check.

"I'm sorry for falsely accusing you, Hermione." She said stiffly. She turned back to Draco, expectantly. Draco glared at her, but mumbled a quick spell to change her hair back to blonde waves. Josephine quickly looked at her self in the mirror and touched her head, lovingly. She looked back up at Draco with a wide smile. Draco glared back at her until Josephine's smile disappeared. She looked over to Hermione, Ginny and Blaise, who were all glaring at her. Quietly, she walked up to her room.

"Well, that was interesting." Draco stated. He walked over to Hermione and cupped her head in his hand to look at the bruise that was quickly healing, thanks to Ginny. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Draco." Hermione stated. She looked over to the stairs, causing Draco to jerk back his hand. "Where do you think she went to?"

"I don't care." Draco turned and walked into his office. The door slammed shut behind him. Hermione looked over to Blaise.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Nah," Blaise replied. "He's probably just pissed off that Josephine reacted like that. I wouldn't be surprised if he put a spell over her so that she can't come with a few feet of you." Blaise winked. Hermione shrugged.

"Ok, so what do we want to do now?"

"Oh! I told the Manicols that I would stop by today. Their cows have been acting strange lately and she wanted me to see if there was a virus going around. That would be horrible – we don't need anymore viruses to hit the cow/sheep population!" Ginny replied.

"Ok, can I go with you?" Blaise asked.

"Of course! I would love for you to see what I do. I hope you don't mind getting dirty though."

"Not at all. Mud wrestling is a favourite pastime of mine."

"Yeah, we there won't be much of that." Blaise's face fell in disappointment. Ginny laughed. "Not on the job anyways." She turned to Hermione. "Do you want to come, Hermione?"

"No, I think I'll stay here today. I can do some research for a project I'm working on. I think Draco has a large library." Hermione replied.

"Ok, we'll see you later then!"

Late that night, Hermione was reading in her room as she suddenly got very hungry. Sighing, she put down her book. She was all dressed for bed, but she couldn't take the hunger pains anymore. She knew that anyone of the house elves would be happy to bring her a meal, but Hermione didn't want to bother them. She was able to allow house elves to work if it made them happy, but she wasn't about to give them any extra work to do. Putting on a silk robe and slippers, Hermione opened the door to her room and peaked out. Rauma looked up as the door opened and smiled at Hermione.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Hermione asked. Rauma just smiled at Hermione and shook her head. Hermione shrugged and looked down the hall. It was dark and there was no sign of anyone. Hermione opened the door and lit her wand, "Iluminous." Closing the door behind her, Hermione started down the hall, carrying her book. After a few twists and turns and stairs, Hermione found herself at the door of the kitchen. Gently, she opened the door. The large kitchen was lightly lit by moonlight coming through an open window. Hermione was so glad that it was summer. It made the nights much more pleasant.

Quickly making a tuna sandwich, Hermione sat down at a table under the window. Opening the book, she read and ate quite peacefully until the door opened and someone crept into the room. Hermione looked up at the visitor, who was quietly making a turkey sandwich.

"Hello?" The visitor turned around, surprised and with their wand drawn. Hermione quickly put out her hand. "It's just me!"

"Hermione!" Draco lowered his wand and sighed. "I'm glad it's you. I think Josephine has a camera outside my room to watch when I leave. I was afraid that she followed me here."

Hermione looked around. "She's coming this way?"

"Not unless she knows about my secret passage." Draco came to sit across from Hermione. "What are you reading?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a book about portkeys and the different ways they can be used." Draco lifted an eyebrow.

"Any reason why you are reading that particular book?

"An on-going project of mine." Hermione replied back. She shifted his gaze to his sandwich. "I'm surprised to see you down here, getting your own sandwich."

Draco leaned back and took a bite. "Yeah, well, I like to do things for myself every now and then. Besides," he leaned forward again with a gleam in his eye, "If I know Josephine, she should be trying to sneak into my room about now."

"So?-" Hermione started to say when a scream interrupted her. Her head turned towards the sound reactively, but turned again to Draco rolling in laughter. "What!"

"I –" Draco continued to laugh. He was laughing so hard that Hermione started to laugh too. Soon, tears were flowing from Draco's eyes for laughing so hard. He was doubled over and practically on the floor.

"What did you do to her?"

"Whew!" Draco started to calm down a bit and sat up a bit. "I knew that she would try to sneak into my room, right?" Hermione nodded. "Well, I left and came here, but before I did, I – " Draco started to laugh again, "I asked one of the house elves to sleep in the bed! Josephine probably came into my room and climbed into bed to seduce a house elf!" Draco laughed uproariously again. Hermione couldn't believe it. Josephine was going to be furious, especially depending on what she did before she saw who was in bed. She started to giggle, thinking of Josephine's face and then laughed loudly with Draco. Soon they were both gasping for breath as they finished with giggles.

"That's too bad, Draco." Hermione giggled.

"But it's better than her climbing into bed with me." Draco pointed out.

"True." Hermione got up and took their plates. "Do you want anything else?"

"Tea, if you know how to make it."

"No problem." Hermione quickly put the dishes on the counter and got out the tea pot. Soon she came back to the table with two cups of tea, milk and sugar.

"Hermione, do you like the Carney estate?"

"Yes, it's beautiful. And very interesting."

"I'm glad." Draco sipped his tea. "I really want you to like this home." Hermione smiled, but didn't say anything. It seemed like an odd topic. "I think it is a nice place. Plus, it allows for privacy that you would not normally get."

"Well, I'm not sure how that would be with your mom in town!" Hermione laughed, thinking of her mom.

"True." The couple finished their tea. "Shall we head back to bed?"

"Yes, I feel better now." Draco put their dishes on the counter, where they disappeared. He lit his wand as they began to walk down the corridor. They both walked quietly. Hermione figured they both didn't want to alert Josephine as to where Draco was in the mansion. Finally, they made it to Hermione's room. Hermione turned to face Draco, who looked rather reluctant to leave her.

"Are you ok?" Hermione smiled at Draco. He looked surprise and nodded. "You know, if you don't want to see Josephine, you can always hang out here a bit longer." Draco looked relived.

"That would be great." He laughed. "I didn't think about it until now, but I wonder if she decided to camp out in my room until I came back!" He shook his head. "I wouldn't put it past her."

"It's no problem." Hermione opened the door. "Come on in." They walked into the room together and closed the door behind them. Rauma smiled at the door and moved quietly from her painting, down the hall.

A/N: Ok, I hope you like this chapter! Please let me know how quickly you would like to get rid of Josephine and if you want me to move quicker with Hermione and Draco. They _are_ spending the night together and more about that will come in the next chapter:)


	13. Transition Chapter

A/N: I know, I know! It's been AGES since I updated! I'm SO sorry! But, I have finished moving and work is a bit slower, so hopefully my story will pick up again. :)

Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! Thank you MIDNIGHT-PIXIE, DarkPrincessPyro99, Jessica Halliwell Potter, VMARS, LadySnake (I wasn't going to have any Ravenclaw connection – actually, I just realized that was a spelling error – her name is Rauma! I have fixed it now), kerry, Red and Gold, Stacy, Tiarwen, anya, Starinthenight, and robin777. I got several new people and I really appreciate all of your comments! You all are so cool!

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Hermione walked into her room behind Draco and closed the door. Draco stood in the middle of the room with his back towards her, looking around. Hermione patiently waited until he turned back to her.

"I don't know why you look – this is your room, you know."

Draco smiled. "I know. It's just been awhile since I've been in this room, that's all." He walked over to the fireplace and sat down in the chair. Hermione joined him on the other chair. She yawned.

"You can go to sleep if you're tired, Hermione." Draco said. "I'll be quiet and sleep in the chair."

"Its fine, Draco. I'll stay up a bit longer and keep you company." Hermione conjured up another cup of tea for both of them and added milk and sugar.

"Thank you" Draco said, taking the cup. After a few minutes of silence again, Hermione yawned. Draco coughed. "So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, I don't know. Ginny and I haven't been into town for awhile so we may walk in and see what is going on." She smiled. "Staying out here you almost forget that there is a whole other world with regular people living normal lives."

Draco looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, here you have everything you need. I mean, you even can bring guests to stay and keep you company! In town, you work with other people to get things you need and help them with whatever they need."

"I help people." Draco looked wounded.

"I know you do, but it's very different than how a shopkeeper or Ginny do! I mean, you donate money and set up organisations to help people. The people in town are the kinds of people who receive that money or work for those organisations."

"Oh." Draco sipped his tea.

"I didn't mean anything – I was just saying that it will be nice to go back to town and see how everything is, that's all."

"Ok." Draco stood up. "Well, I hope you won't stay away too long."

"Of course not!" Hermione stood as well. "We are just visiting. I must say that this is the most beautiful estate I have ever been to! Plus, there are so many interesting aspects to it – I probably would be happy to stay here for a hundred years!" Hermione laughed. "Of course, I'm sure you would go nuts if I stayed here that long."

"Of course not. I would be happy if you would stay here for a hundred years." Hermione looked up at Draco. He came to stand in front of her and took her hands. "Of course, if you stay here that long, you would become a part of the estate."

Hermione laughed nervously. "Right, I-" Hermione stopped as Draco's lips came close to hers.

"Hermione" Draco breathed before encasing her lips with his own. Hermione felt her knees go week as Draco held her close to his body. She felt his warm breath and heart beating as the kiss deepened. After a magnificent eternity, Draco broke the kiss and moved down to kiss her neck. Hermione moaned with pleasure and brought her arms around Draco's neck. Their lips met again in another kiss, then another, then another...

After an eternity of kisses, Hermione and Draco stopped to catch their breath. They were lying on Hermione's bed, Draco looking down at Hermione. He moved a piece of curled hair from her face and kissed her softly. Hermione smiled.

"Hermione, I think you have figured out that I like you. A lot." Hermione laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Promise you won't be gone from me for long?"

Hermione kissed his lips. "Of course not! My god – Ginny and I are just going to be in town. You know, you could always come with us." Hermione giggled. "Leave Josephine here and stay at my flat for awhile. Or you and Blaise can rent a flat and see how the other side lives."

Draco kissed Hermione. "Hmmm, I'll have to think of that." He kissed her again, deeper. "I don't think I could go to long without kisses like these." And he kissed her again, and again, and again…

* * *

The next morning, Hermione woke up feeling elated. Seeing Draco sleeping next to her, she smiled. Getting up, Hermione went to the toilet and then bathroom to shower. When she came out Draco was dressed and sitting at her table by the fireplace with a tray of breakfast.

"Good morning!" Hermione came to Draco's chair. He lifted his head and Hermione gave his a lingering kiss.

"Mmmmm." Draco pointed to the tray. "I got us something to eat."

Hermione looked at the spread of fruits, cheese and bread in front of her. She smiled. "This looks wonderful, thank you." She sat down in the other chair and helped herself to some bread and brie.

"Well, I checked and it turns out that Josephine _did_ camp out in my room last night. Apparently she is now going room-by-room searching for me. And everything someone walks by, she tries to act like she is just lost and is just a sweet girl." Draco scoffed as he took a bit of break and pâté.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, at least she is busy. She could just be eating all of your food and using all your rooms." They both paused to eat some more. "So, why don't you and Blaise rent a flat in town and hang out there for a few days? I'll take it the estate can protect itself again Josephine – just leave and not come back for awhile."

"Yeah, I really should do that." Draco stopped. "Yeah, I will do that!"

"Great!" Hermione paused. "Are you going to tell Josephine?"

Draco smiled widely. "No, I'll just leave her here to figure it out." He chucked. "And if she doesn't get it in a few days, I'll have the house elves stop providing food. I would think that would give her a good hint that we are not here."

"Ok, but try not to send her into town!"

* * *

Ok, ok. I know – it's short and really not that great of a chapter. I think I can bring it up again and more exciting, but now that Draco and Hermione are together, I'm kinda' looking for a way to end the story without being too stupid. Sigh I really like Josephine so I want to bring her back to town for a bit more fun, but if anyways has advise on how to end stories, I would really appreciate it:) 


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Hello again! I know, I know – I need to update quicker! Hehehe. I am really trying to get back on track now. I am giving a note to everyone though – I REALLY appreciate all of your notes and reviews, especially when I get stuck like this! You guys are WONDERFUL!

Kara- you are absolutely right to bring up the estate and all that stuff. I'm going to bring that back, I was just getting so stuck! But, you pointing that out really did help guide me back on track! Thanks so much!

rani singala – welcome:) I'm glad you like the story! Yes, Draco is a bit out of character, but I hope that it's not too bad!

Slymom- Welcome and thanks for the note! Yeah- we'll see what Josephine does:)

Starinthenight – Thank you so much for all your reviews! You have been with me throughout the whole thing:)

DarkPrincessPyro99 – Thanks! I hope this chapter goes well!

Emma – I know, I know! I'm trying to update faster now! ;)

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A few days later, after Draco and Blaise settled themselves in an apartment in town (ok – it was really the whole building of 3 floors of flats), Mrs. Gilbert invited the couples to her house for dinner. Although Mrs. Gilbert was not of such a close acquaintance as Hermione and Ginny with Draco, she didn't see any reason why she could not have him over to dinner. She had lived her longer than him, right?

Thankfully, Draco, Blaise and Mrs. Gilbert got along wonderfully. She had cooked a meal of lentil soup, Caesar salad, stuffed pheasant, boiled corn and squash. It turned out that Draco loved stuffed pheasant and Blaise declared her food the best he had ever taken. This made Mrs. Gilbert blush with pleasure and fawn over the boys more.

"I had been a bit nervous because I'm sure you are used to house elves cooking, but I really enjoy cooking and don't think I'm too bad at it either!" she declared.

As the meal was drawing to a close, a knock sounded on the door.

"Oh!" Mrs. Gilbert exclaimed. "Excuse me! I can't imagine who that could be!" She scooted her chair back and got up from the table. "Hermione, Ginny? Would you two be such dears and bring out the coffee and cake? It's on the kitchen counter."

"Yes, Mrs. Gilbert." The girls chimed together.

Mrs. Gilbert left the dinning room and toward her front door. She loved her house. It was much longer than most so you could sit in the dining room or parlour and have an excellent view of the street. Mrs. Gilbert loved the idea that anyone walking by that evening would have seen her dinning with such famous company. As she came to the door, Mrs. Gilbert frowned. She had excellent perception and it didn't feel as if anyone she knew was on the other side. As a side thought, she took her wand before opening the door.

"Yes, can I help you?" Mrs. Gilbert asked, opening the door.

Before her stood one of the most striking women that she had ever seen. Everything about her screamed pure-blood and money. She held her head up very high and was obviously very confident with herself. At the same time, she was looking at Mrs. Gilbert and her home with a kind of distain as if she was superior. Mrs. Gilbert decided that she did not like her immediately. She blinked her eyes impatiently.

"I am here to see Lord Malfoy." The woman declared.

"And who may you be and why would you like to see Mister Malfoy?" Mrs. Gilbert asked in an equally haughty tone. The woman looked indignant.

"Excuse me? Who are you to ask what my intentions are? I am here to see Lord Malfoy and that is all you need to know." She began to move pass Mrs. Gilbert. "Now, move out of my way and announce me!"

"You look here, dearie." Mrs. Gilbert was enraged. "Mister Malfoy is in _my_ house, enjoying a dinner for him and his friends and if you need to talk with him, you will need to announce who you are and what your business is!"

"I will do no such thing! I am Josephine Baker, his _fiancé_, and I do NOT need to explain anything to you."

"Josephine Baker! Well, I have heard _plenty _about you Ms. Baker – and not just from Draco." Mrs. Gilbert grabbed the local paper. "Here!" she said, shoving the paper in Josephine's hands. Josephine looked down and saw herself on the cover of the paper with her skin blue, due to another mishap at the estate. She went pale.

"Now," Mrs. Gilbert continued, "I know that you are not Mister Malfoy's fiancé. If you would like to talk with him, you can wait until we are finished here!"

"I…" Josephine was still in shock over the photo, but quickly recovered. "I am not moving from this room until I see Draco!"

"As you wish," Mrs. Gilbert said, drawing her wand. Before Josephine could react, Mrs. Gilbert shrunk Josephine and the newspaper to the size of a mouse. As she screamed in Mrs. Gilbert's hand it sounded like squeaks of a wheel. Mrs. Gilbert quickly dumped out some flowers and dropped Josephine in the long vase. As Josephine pounded against the glass, screaming, Mrs. Gilbert calmly left the room.

* * *

When she came back to the room, looking triumphant, she found Hermione, Draco, Ginny and Blaise looking anxiously at her.

"Mrs. Gilbert, are you ok? It sounded like you were arguing with someone!" Ginny asked, worried.

"Yes, but everything was settled!" Mrs. Gilbert sat down and poured herself and cup of coffee. "I swear, some people can be so pushy!"

"Is there anything that we can do to help you?" Blaise asked. "Put charms around the door, or anything?"

"You are such a sweet boy! But, no, I really am good. I think I gave them a bit more than what they asked for!" Mrs. Gilbert chuckled, but would not reveal any more information.

* * *

"Well, Mrs. Gilbert, this has been a wonderful evening." Draco said, standing up from the couch in the parlour. The party had adjourned there for more tea and sweets that Hermione had bought before arriving. "I am very sorry to say however that we must say our good-byes."

Mrs. Gilbert yawned. "Well, it has been quite a night!" She stood up and came over to Draco and took his hand. "It really has been such a pleasure to have all of you come. I do hope that you will come again soon."

"Yes, Mrs. Gilbert." Draco smiled. "I do not think you could keep Blaise away from your cooking!" He leaned over to kiss her check. She blushed.

"Mrs. Gilbert, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight." Blaise came over and put his arm around her. "I hope that while we are in town you will also visit us often!"

"Oh course! I would love to come by, when I am invited that is."

"We will invite you very soon for a dinner of our own! Perhaps I will even get Draco to cook a bit!" Draco looked a bit startled, but relaxed when he realized it was a joke.

"I'll walk out with you, Draco." Hermione quickly said. She turned to Mrs. Gilbert. "I think your night was a great success! Thank you so much for everything," she gave Mrs. Gilbert a hug and kiss and turned toward the door. Mrs. Gilbert waved them out.

"It was my pleasure! Please come again soon!"

As the four went through the door, they didn't notice a fuming miniature Josephine in the hall. They heard what sounded like a squeaking, but nothing more. A few minutes after their exit, Draco came back in through the door, followed by Hermione.

"Shhhh! I can't believe you forgot your gloves!" Hermione whispered to Draco.

Draco quickly looked around for his missing gloves. "Here they are!"

"Shhhh! Mrs. Gilbert will hear you! She probably went straight to bed after such an evening!" Hermione stopped. "What?"

"Do you think she'll hear this?" Draco took Hermione's face in his hands and kissed her softly and deeply.

"Mmmmmm." Hermione breathed. Then, she snapped out of it. "Ok, come on, you still have to bring me home!"

"Yes, mademoiselle!" Draco took her arm and they walked outside again. And left a very shocked, very cold, very small Josephine in the entry to Mrs. Gilbert's house.

* * *

Ok, I hope you enjoyed! I actually already have an idea for the next chapter, so I will try to update again before the weekend! Please review and let me know what you think! 


	15. Josephine's Fight

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! You guys are wonderful! I'm glad that you are enjoying everything and appreciate suggestions that you may have. :) Sorry I got this chapter up so late. I went on vacation before the chapter ended so couldn't post until now.

_Starinthenight_ – you are so sweet! I am so glad that you have been such a good reviewer… and loyal one too!

_bippity boppity BOO_ – Hehehe! That would be great for her to get hairy arm pits!

_Serlene_- yea, she had it coming. It's pretty pitiful, but I find that people like her usually are.

_MIDNIGHT-PIXIE_- Thanks so much for that great review! You and Starinthenight have been so wonderful about reviewing this story! Yea, Jo is probably a bit shocked (to say the least), but that's what happens! I was thinking when I was writing about her wand and ended up leaving it for you to figure out. I figure out there were two main situations: 1. she forgot her wand (I don't think this would have happened – she's a bit too smart for that) 2. She didn't move quickly enough and along with the shrinking, she was restricted from wand magic. Perhaps that was a bit weak, but I'm not that good with spells yet. :)

A _BIG_ thanks to _Tiarwen_, _samanthaaa_, _Jessica Halliwell Potter_ and D_arkPrincessPyro99_! I really appreciate all of your reviews and hope you continue to enjoy everything!

* * *

A few weeks later…

"Yes, mum… Yes, mum… I will be careful… Yes, I'll let Draco know… Ok… Ok… Love you too… Bye." Sighing, Hermione disconnected from her mother. She rubbed her temples and sat down next to the front window. Looking out on the street, Hermione saw people walking by, chatting and greeting one another cheerfully. Hermione sighed again and walk over to the fireplace. As she was about to throw the floo powder in, there was a knock at her door. Hermione looked up and walked over to the door.

"Draco!" Hermione smiled and he came into the room, giving her a kiss. "I was just about to floo you!"

"Well, I was thinking of you too." Draco said, putting his arms around her and kissing her neck. Hermione enjoyed his embrace for a moment before pulling away.

"My mum called me." Hermione sat down again the chair. "Apparently Josephine is going around town saying that I stole you from her and that she knows I have slept with several members of the Ministry to get my job." Hermione shook her head. "Really! Does she really think that anyone is going to believe that! I mean, I am the smartest witch that Hogwarts has had in over 400 years! To think, that I would actually have to _prostitute_ myself for a job!"

Draco laughed, but stopped at Hermione's glare. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I just think it's funny that you have a bigger problem with her saying that you're not smart enough to get a job rather than that she telling everyone you're a slut."

"Right, like anyone is going to believe I'm a slut." Hermione scowled again. "I dated Ron, which took forever, and since I've been here, I have been _working_!"

"Ok, ok." Draco snuggled next to Hermione. "You are smart and not a slut." He kissed her nose. "So, if no one is going to believe anything she says, why do we have to worry?"

"I guess we don't." Hermione sighed. "It's just incredibly annoying!"

"Hmmm, well I know a great way to relieve stress…" Draco mumbled in her ear as his lips moved down the side of her neck. A gentle moan escaped Hermione's lips as he sucked gently on her neck. She moved her head and his lips met hers as they continued one kiss after the other.

Hermione's fingers ran through Draco's hair has he pulled her closer. His hand found her skin beneath her shirt and Hermione jumped at his cold hands. "Sorry," Draco smiled at Hermione, who smiled back and then continued their embrace. As their kisses became deeper and Draco's hands became bolder, he suddenly stopped.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused. Draco sat up.

"Look." He said pointing to the window. Hermione looked around and gasped. During their snuggling session a small crowd of kids had gathered at her window and were now doubling over with laughter.

"Well!" Hermione exclaimed and jumped up to close the curtains. Draco sat back in the chair, laughing. Hermione came back and sat next to him, snuggling close.

"Hermione?"

"Hmmm?"

"I actually stopped by because Blaise and I are going to have to leave town for a few days."

"What? Why?" Hermione exclaimed.

"We have some business that came up and need to go Dover for a bit."

"Dover?"

"Yeah," Draco looked a bit sheepish. "We had a shipment coming in from France and it got a bit out of control."

"What do you mean?" Draco hesitated.

"Well… it's a baby dragon."

"WHAT!" Hermione yelled. "Why are you bringing a French dragon into England?"

"It's actually Hungarian." Hermione shot him a glare. "Well, Blaise wanted to bring a present to Ginny and he knew that she liked unique animals and this one was such a cute baby…"

"And?"

"Well, apparently cute, Hungarian dragons get big very quickly." Draco finished quickly.

"So, now you have a big dragon terrorizing Dover?"

"Thankfully, they have been able to control her so far. But we need to get over there and explain the situation and clear up the mess with the Ministry."

"I can't believe you guys did that." Hermione groaned.

"Actually, I was going to tell them that I need the dragon for my estate." Hermione shot him a look of disbelief. "No, really! The estate used to have dragons as a protective 'watchdog' and I think it would be good to have one back again."

"Ok, you do what you need to do." Hermione stood up, a bit annoyed at Draco's illegal actions. It was more maddening to know that he was going to get away with it too.

"Oh, come on. Don't be too mad. I'll explain everything when we return." Draco took Hermione's face in his hands and smiled at her. "Can I get a smile?"

"Hmph." Hermione said. She still let Draco kiss her, however.

"I'll see you soon." Draco said, exiting her flat.

"Bye." Hermione frowned. A dragon! That was too dangerous and not a good idea. Going back to her research, Hermione took out an old map of the Carney estate – one of the oldest known. She had found it in an old diary that Draco gave her from his private library. She was going through various maps, trying to find the passage under the stairs that she followed the night of Draco's party. She was very excited when she found this map, but there seemed to be gaps to the estate in it. The ground floor had rooms that were on the first floor and the gardens seemed to be apart of the second floor rooms. Hermione had even gone to the estate to check out some of the rooms and they were where she thought they were (on the first and ground floor respectively), but the map said otherwise. Hermione leaned back and sighed.

Getting up, Hermione went into her kitchen and pulled out the kettle. Filling it up with water, Hermione watched the children play in the street outside her window. They were playing with magic (where are their parents? Hermione thought) and making each other's hair turn green, orange, stand up, etc. Hermione smiled and made herself a cup of tea. Sitting down, Hermione began to finger a charm that she found in her room at the Carney estate. She had put it on after a few days and forgot to return it. Taking it off, Hermione looked down at the cool, red stone. Around the stone was the inscription: _audaces fortuna iuvat_.

"F_ortune favours the bold," _Hermione mumbled. That certainly applied to the Malfoy family, she thought. They are very bold and it has brought them a dark fortune. Hermione stared longer at the charm. It looked familiar, she thought. Racking her brain, Hermione tried to figure out where she had seen the charm before. She went back to her research and began to go through books and articles about the Carney estate and its history. Every Malfoy shown had the characteristic green emeralds on their hands and none with an inscription. "Where have I seen this before?" Hermione wondered out loud. Suddenly she knew. Not bothering to clean up her books, Hermione grabbed her charm and raced out of the room. At the door, she apparated to the Carney Estate.

* * *

Meanwhile, a fight was brewing at The Jolly Bog. Josephine had been going around town, trying to get people to 1. choose sides between her and Hermione 2. have them understand why Hermione was bad 3. tell Draco that he should go back to his fiancé. She was not having much luck. Furthermore, although Hermione didn't have many close friends in town, the bashing by Josephine was making a lot of people loyal to her.

"Josephine, you need to stop bugging Hermione, Draco and the entire town before we run you out!" Ginny shouted at Josephine, who had just 'accidentally' spilt her drink on her. Josephine opened her eyes in mock surprise.

"Why, I don't know what you are talking about! I am just enjoying all the town has to offer and my new friends," she added, nodding to the two men across the table from her.

"They're only hanging out with you because you have lowered yourself to the occasional blow job to have people on your side." Ginny calmly stated matter-of-factly. Josephine jumped up, her eyes blazing.

"That is a lie!" She roared, glaring at the people around her laughing.

"Is it?" Ginny smiled, knowing the crowd was with her. "Then why was Drake Gustor bragging that you gave him great satisfaction only after he agreed to agree with you about Hermione?"

"How would I know," Josephine snapped. "Drake is a crazy old goon who wouldn't know if he was getting pleasure from a women or a goat."

"So, you give bad head… Good to know."

"You bitch!" Josephine screamed, lunging at Ginny. Thankfully Ginny saw it coming and sidestepped her quite easily. Josephine fell onto the floor and at the feet of Drake Gustor.

"I don't know a woman from a goat, eh?" Drake looked down at Josephine. "Well, you may be pretty, but no one is worth your trouble," he added. Taking a drink from his mug, Drake looked down again at Josephine at his feet. "But," Josephine looked up, "Ginny is right about something. You suck at giving any pleasure." And with that he emptied his mug over Josephine. Josephine screamed as the thick, gooey Butterbeer poured into her hair and face. Getting up, she sputtered.

"What… Who do you people think you are?"

"Who are we? Who do you think you are?" Ginny questioned back. "You came here because no one else in London will have you. You are a low-life gold-digger and Draco, the once shallowest man in English, dumped you and you are no good to anyone else. If I were you, I would start looking for a blind, deaf man now – Because no one else will ever have you!"

"We'll see about that!" Josephine began to leave the bar.

"Oh Josephine," Ginny called to her. She stopped and turned around.

"What?"

"You can't go back to London looking like that."

"I know! What's it to you? You get to stay here, looking like crap and rolling in crap. At least I'll have some fashion."

"Hmmm, rolling in crap, huh? I think that's an excellent idea." Ginny took out her wand and pointed at Josephine. "Fecesius Regunviatus!" Josephine ran screaming from the bar. "That ought to take care of that." She bowed to the laughter and applause around her.

* * *

Next morning's Daily Prophet:

Josephine Baker, the Socialite that tried to steal Draco Malfoy's heart and estate, was committed yesterday due to a children's spell with an interesting twist. No matter how much the young lady may wash or change robes, she will be covered with manure until the spell wears off.

* * *

Please review! 


	16. Dragons, gifts and an old charm

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Well, I'm glad to see that so many people read my last chapter! If you read, please drop me a little note so that I can be encouraged to write quicker:) Also, I get my books from the UK, so please don't write an spoilers if you read the book first:) It takes about a week for me to get mine.

Hehehehehe – I just watched the Goblet of Fire movie preview again.

Starinthenight – lol, I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter! I really like humour and will try to keep it up!

MIDNIGHT-PIXIE – Yep! We're going back to the estate! I'm still working on my notes surrounding the estate. Yeah! I can't wait for the new book! But no one tell me what happens – I'm having mine shipped from the UK and will get it in about a week:(

Steelo – I'm glad you like it! The charm will hopefully tie stuff together.

And a BIG thanks to lightning8star, amy, a reader, and Tiarwen (I'm glad you thought it was funny!)! I really appreciate all of your reviews and would always love any suggestions you may have! I have made an outline for the last two chapters, but please let me know what suggestions you have and if you think I need to go on longer.

* * *

Hermione appeared at the front steps to the Carney estate and immediately ran upstairs. Without knocking the doors flew open for her and she rushed in. Portraits in the hall announced her arrival with "She's here, she's here!" Hermione ignored them and ran up the main staircase to the second floor.

A house elf slowly walked into the great hall as the portraits settled down. "Hello?" he squeaked. With no answer, he sneaked back into the kitchen.

* * *

"Knock, knock, knock." Ginny looked up from her medical set. Going to the door, she opened it to find a smiling Blaise there with a covered cage.

"Blaise!" Ginny threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. "You're back early! I thought you were going to be gone for a few days, not one! But I'm so glad to see you! Come on in!"

With a big smile, Blaise entered her house. "I'm glad to see you. We were able to quickly finish our business and, of course, I couldn't wait to get back to you. I have a gift," he added, holding the cage to her. Ginny squealed.

"For me?" Excitedly she sets the cage on the table and removes the cover. Inside was a bird that was so beautiful, the feathers must have been infused with the lights of paradise. As Ginny stared at it with wonder and delight, the bird called to her, making a perfect melody. "Oh Blaise, it's perfect!"

"I thought you would like a Feng-huang. They are really hard to find, you know." He teased her. Ginny replied by giving him enough kisses to make it worth it.

As they separated, Ginny asked, "Where's Draco?"

At that moment, Ginny and Blaise heard a huge roar coming from outside, followed by shouting. Startled, they ran to the window in time to see a Hungarian dragon with Draco on top of it go flying past. Draco was shouting at the dragon to stop, but he seemed to be trying to buck Draco from his back. Horrified, they watched as the dragon crashed to the ground and then knocked into a few trees. Draco stumbled out of the tree he was thrown into and shot several stunning spells to the dragon. The dragon froze for a few seconds before continuing to twill in confusion and fright.

"Blaise!" Draco yelled. "Get your ass out here NOW and help me control this monster of yours!"

Blaise immediately looked at Ginny guiltily and ran outside. Ginny ran to her medical kit and grabbed a large jug before running outside after him. Blaise and Draco had managed to stop the dragon from doing anything, but we confused what to do next. Thankfully, Ginny walked straight up to the dragon, opened his mouth and poured the contents of the jug into him. Immediately, the dragon stopped acting frantic. He put down his head and calmly let Ginny stroke his head. Draco and Blaise watched, stunned.

"What did you give him?" Draco asked, astonished.

"Goat's milk." Ginny replied, matter-of-factly. "George taught me that it calms down any dragon right away. Plus, the dragon will then consider you their family." Ginny smiled sweetly at the two men who were exhausted from their fight. Finally, Draco pulled out his wand to fix his bruises and cuts.

"Well, I'm sure glad that you were here." Draco stated.

"Why do you have a dragon?" Ginny asked, looking suspiciously at Blaise. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Well, I wanted to get you a unique gift…" Ginny raised her eyebrows, "and I saw these baby dragons in a catalogue and they looked _so_ cute and thought it would be perfect for you and then it grew really large by the time it got to Dover and apparently it's not really legal in England so Draco agreed to take him for his estate." Blaise finished quickly.

"Do you even know how to take care of a dragon?" Ginny turned to Draco.

"No, but I was going to ask if you would be interested in taking a permanent position to help me with him." Draco smoothly replied. Ginny looked surprised and then considered him for a minute.

"We can discuss the details later." The dragon was beginning to stir. "I would suggest that we make our way to your estate before the milk wears off. And we will need to get about 50 litres of goats milk a day until he is training properly." The group began to lead the dragon toward the Carney estate with Ginny listing what she needed. "And I'll need a protective coat of leather made for me – just in case. And…"

* * *

"So, why doesn't anyone know about this?" Hermione asked. There was no reply heard. "You want me to put this on? Why?" Pause. Hermione lifted the charm and put it around her head. She was instantly inside the portrait of Rauma Carney outside her room. Looking around, Hermione saw that looking out she could see the Carney estate hall in front of her. To her right and left was darkness. Looking around, Hermione could see Rauma, her chair, the estate behind them and various objects on a table next to Rauma. Rauma smiled at you.

"I know that you are surprised that I invited you into my portrait, but I feel that you are worthy of my attentions." Rauma spoke to Hermione. Her voice was quiet, but strong with the conviction of a powerful witch. "I have seen my family fight over the years and never found someone who was strong enough and good enough to deserve what I have to offer you. But first, I need you to prove your worthiness." Hermione nodded, even though her head was full of questions. Rauma handed her an old parchment. Hermione looked down and opened the paper to find a map of the estate.

"This is the original map to my estate. While the current security portkeys and other measures do protect my family, the alignments of the rooms were changed before my death to limit the power in the house." Rauma paused. She looked sad. "My descendents have not been very true to the Carney name and my action has probably helped to prevent wars that members of the family would have begun to gain more power."

"The stone in the charm around you neck was mine. My husband gave it to me when we were betrothed. I added the inscription, _audaces fortuna iuvat_, after our first child was born." Rauma paused again. "My husband was a very good man. I know that you have a bit of a history with the Malfoy family" Hermione began to talk, but was hushed, "I do still have connections outside these walls. I am glad to find that the current generation to carry my husband's name is beginning to come back to their senses."

She pointed to the map open in Hermione's hands. "This map will help you re-align the estate to it's original positions. I am sure you will figure out how to do this. If you succeed, you will get my reward. If you fail, the map will be gone from you until someone worthy comes before me again." She paused. "Let me answer your questions now."

* * *

Draco, Blaise, the dragon and Ginny arrived at the Carney estate with no knowledge of what was going on inside. Draco quickly led the group around to a path surrounding the estate and gardens.

"Moativus Apparendiate." The ground dropped by about 3 meters to reveal a moat that went around the estate. The dragon perked up and immediately went into the moat and into a cave under the group. Soon they heard him snoring and Draco and Blaise set about putting spells around the moat, estate and grounds to hold the dragon inside the area. Ginny filled up a large basin by the dragon with some more goats milk Dragon was able to procure from the house-elves.

"Right." Draco said, wiping his hands and looking to Blaise and Ginny. "So, Ginny, what's been going on while we've been gone?"

"Well, Draco, I've hexed Josephine and she won't be bothering us now." Ginny replied.

"What? How did you do that?"

"It was her idea really. If you look at today's _Daily's Prophet_ you will see a short article with all the details." Ginny grinned widely, "See if she thinks she's prettier than me now!"

"What did you do?" Draco was now a bit alarmed.

"Nothing. She's just going to smell like manure for awhile now." Ginny giggled evilly. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Women." He mumbled. He looked again to Ginny. "Speaking of, is Hermione at home today?"

Ginny shrugged. "Not sure. I haven't seen her in about two days. I stopped by last night and didn't find her, but she may have been at the library or something."

"Ok." Draco began to walk to the estate. "Well, I would like to change and visit her. You two are more then welcome to stay her and refresh yourselves."

"Great!" Blaise perked up. "Do you still have those treats from Dubai? Ginny, I couldn't believe that food could ever taste that good until Draco got this gift from an associate in Dubai to thank him for starting a new project there. You will have to try them. They are sooooo good!"

Blaise and Ginny continued behind Draco talking about food and their favourites until they reached the house. Draco suddenly stopped, causing Blaise to smack into him.

"What?" Balise asked, looking at Draco. Draco just stared in front of him. Ginny and Blaise looked up and their faces reflected Draco's shock. The estate not only looked different from the way they had left it, but it was bigger, a lighter shade of stone and glowing slightly.

"What is going on?" Draco asked to no one in particular as he took out his wand and rushed up the steps. When he came to the main door, he tried to open it, but it wouldn't open. Draco began pounding on the door. "Open up, house! This is mine!"

When the house wouldn't budge, Draco ran around to the garden entrance with Blaise and Ginny in tow. As they came to the courtyard, they were cut short to find Hermione standing in the middle of the garden. A _glowing_ Hermione, floating above the path with a map in her hand. She looked at the map and then focused her wand on the house. As the three watched, the library on the ground floor made its way, as if turned into rubber, to the first floor. As the house settled into its new format, it slowly stopped glowing and returned to it's former colour. Hermione seemed exhausted as she slowly lowered to the ground and returned to her normal shade. After sitting for a moment, Hermione stood up and turned around to find Draco, Blaise and Ginny staring at her.

"I can explain…" she said, walking toward them.

* * *

A/N: I hope you like this chapter! I will try to update again early next week! Please, please, please review and let me know what you think about the whole story and if you want it to come together and end or if it should go on a bit longer. If you vote for longer, please give me suggestions:) 


	17. Rauma's wishes

A/N: Hello! It has taken me a bit longer to update this time because I got reviews that you wanted more:) So, I had to think about how to do this. I was just going to end like planned and then do a sequel, but I'm actually not too big of a fan of those because the sequels often do not have the same tensions as the originals. Then, I was going to bring a new story line in, but I just couldn't make it feel right as I was writing. So, I am still ending with this chapter unless people plead with me to continue. I have a small idea of what I could still do to continue, but I am not sure if I would continue in this story or have to do a squeal. More information at the end. Also, I tried to do research on what portraits are and what they can and can not do, but I only found a few things on it.

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. I still haven't gotten my HBP book, but I did break down and found out several facts. I can't wait to read the story:)

MIDNIGHT-PIXIE – I know! I can't wait to read the book! I was bad about finding out facts, but I'm sure I'm going to love the story!

Steelo – Sorry I took longer than planned to update! I hope you enjoy it!

Tiarwen – Thanks for the love:) I hope you like this chapter!

Starinthenight – Thanks for the suggestion! I was going to sort-of go along those lines but in a slightly different way, but then decided that it wasn't working this chapter. I'm still not sure, but see the end. ;) Thanks for the love and support!

mrsbnm-of09 – A bit longer and more Blaise? ;) I'm glad you like my Blaise.

Jessica Halliwell Potter – Glad you are enjoying it!

lightning8star – I'm glad you find the story intriguing! I'm very new at this sort of this so that is very encouraging to hear!

Thank you to everyone who is reading the story. Please, please, please review – even if it's just a few words!

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"I can explain."

"Explain what!" Draco stepped forward, finally recovering his voice. "Hermione, what is going on? Why can't I get into my home? Why are you changing things? Without my permission." Draco's voice began to rise. "Hermione, _what is going on_!"

Hermione took a deep breath as she walked over to Draco, Blaise and Ginny. Blaise and Ginny stared at her with wide eyes, while Draco struggled to understand what was going on. "Draco, you remember that charm you gave me when I was staying here? The one with the ruby in it?"

"Yes."

"That charm was Rauma Carney's charm. I recognized it from a painting," Hermione quickly continued. "The Portrait of Rauma that was outside her room. Right away I rushed over here to confirm that the charm was the same. Rauma then began to talk to me and invited me into her painting-"

"That's impossible," Draco scoffed.

"Not always," Blaise interrupted them. "Sometimes a will can be activated through the portrait of the person left behind. Often an item," Blaise nodded to the charm around Hermione's neck, "can be used to activate the will." Draco looked at Blaise in disbelief and then turned back to Hermione.

"Why hasn't anyone in my family activated the will?"

"Rauma explained that she used the ruby because of it's abilities to determine the heart of the wearer, in a sense." Hermione added. "The ruby affords the wearer wealth and property; it also strengthens their sprit and will power so that they become fearless. A good wearer becomes respected in society. A bad ruby, with any dark spots shows that the stone does not care for the wearer and bad fortune may befell them. Sometime, a ruby will warn it's wearer of something bad coming to pass in which it goes black until the event occurs. That's how Rauma knew that her husband was going to die.

"Rauma choose to inscribe her ruby with the Latin phrase _audaces fortuna iuvat-fortune favours the bold-_ to remind future descendents that they must take chances. She has been very pleased to see that Malfoy and her descents have taken that advice to heart."

"So, why not give us the will?" Draco impatiently asked. "What is in the will?"

"Patience is a virtue, Draco," Hermione snapped back to him.

"Not to me, it's not. I want to know what is going on – not a lesson in gems." Draco replied. Hermione frowned and chose to ignore him.

"Rauma chose not to show the will to any of your ancestors because they have not been true to the Carney name and chose to follow paths of evil instead of good. Rauma had used her powers through the ruby to gather power and position in society which ultimately let to the marriage between herself and Malfoy. With Malfoy, she began to move geo-magical lines through the Carney estate to protect her family and those people in Reimashire. With the death of Malfoy, she realized that there were evil persons in every family." Hermione turned to Draco. "You see, Rauma didn't want revenge on her husband's killers, but felt that they opened her eyes to the evils that can come into any family. It made her so sad that she withdrew into her estate, with all her power and fortune. She continued to help the people of Reimashire live their lives, but thought about how she could protect the power and wealth she had collected."

"Our family does still have wealth and power." Draco pointed out.

"Yes, but you only today have about one third of the wealth that is still inside the estate." Draco's eyes went wide. "Plus, the power that can now be controlled through here is almost unlimited. A test that Rauma wanted done was to unleash the full power of the geo-magical lines through the estate. To do that, she required a person to channel their power through the ruby to bring the estate back to its original design."

"What!" Draco exclaimed. "What does this mean? That Rauma feels I am worthy enough to control this power?"

Hermione looked a bit uneasy. "Rauma feels that you have begun to restore the good name to the Carney line of descendants and that you are the first honourable descendant of hers in a very long time."

"But…?" Draco couldn't take the suspension.

"But, she is still not sure that anyone who carries the Malfoy surname can handle the power, wealth and responsibility that the Carney estate brings."

"What do you mean? A portrait just can't name someone else benefactor!" He whirled around to Blaise. "Can they?"

Blaise looked uncomfortable to be in this position. "According to laws within the Ministry, a portrait can chose any benefactor if they are given the power to do so. Hermione should have something from Rauma confirming this. In this case, I would expect that parchment, the charm and a verbal confirmation from Rauma's portrait is the confirmation. When together, they should display the will with Rauma's modifications."

"Modifications?"

Blaise swallowed hard, "Hermione's name in the spaces of benefactor."

Draco looked panicked. "Well, let's go to her then!" Draco took the lead and ran to the estate. The doors opened wide for him this time and he ran up the stairs. Blaise, Ginny and Hermione followed, trying to ignore the calls from Draco's relatives in the gallery.

"You whore! How could a mudblood take our estate from us?" One woman shrieked.

"She's a mudblood? And to think, I thought she would be good for Draco," Another man complained.

"Don't listen to them Hermione," Ginny mumbled, holding Hermione's arm. Hermione smiled at her friend.

When the trio reached Draco and Rauma, they found him arguing with the portrait.

"Why won't you answer me!" Draco shouted to the portrait. Rauma just smiled at him. As she saw Hermione, she stood. Draco stopped shouting.

"Hermione. I am very glad to hear that I did not fail in my task." Rauma said. Hermione nodded to her. "I feel that everything is back to how it should be. Aren't you happy for that, Draco?"

"Why would I be happy?" Draco bitterly stated back. "I no longer have the family's best and most powerful estate."

"Yes, that is true." Draco sent the portrait a look of death. "I am very sorry to see that you are taking this so badly. I thought that you and Hermione were together." Draco looked guilty for a minute.

"Yes." He gruffly said.

"So, the estate is not all lost to you." Draco looked sceptically at the portrait. "Rauma never intended for a male to have her power and fortune. Men do not wear charms and she never forgot how people didn't think she could ever have power without Malfoy."

"So, why did you stay with the Malfoy family for all these years?" Draco said in disbelief.

"Draco, Rauma loved her husband very much. That didn't mean that she was dim-witted. She knew that males in the Malfoy family often value power and wealth over true values. If a female came into the line with the power of Rauma and the goodness found within the ruby, she would have given the power to her. But, there seemed to be only males in the Malfoy family and none of them were worthy to Rauma." Draco looked very offended.

Rauma continued. "So, I found Hermione. I only found Hermione since she cared deeply for you. Don't you care for her?" Blaise, Ginny, Hermione and Rauma looked to Draco expectantly.

"Yes." Draco still looked cross.

"So, why don't you marry her?" Rauma asked innocently.

"What!" Draco and Hermione exclaimed together.

Rauma looked surprised and then impatient. "Do you love each other?

Hermione and Draco looked at each other with wide eyes. Draco was the first to speak. "Yes…"

"So get married. Then neither of you lose anything and you both gain much."

"You mean, if they don't marry Hermione doesn't get the money and power and Draco doesn't get the estate?" Ginny jumped in.

"Of course." Rauma sat down again.

"Well, get married you guys!" Ginny exclaimed. "We know that you belong together so just make it official!"

"It's not that simple Ginny!" Hermione replied. "I mean, I don't know if we should rush into this. What if it's really not right?"

"Right – I don't want to marry Hermione and have her think that it is for the money and power." Draco said. Hermione turned to him.

"I wouldn't think you would marry me for that reason."

"You wouldn't?" Draco moved to Hermione. "You trust me more than that?"

Hermione looked nervous. "Yes…"

"So Hermione," Draco took her hands, "would you like to marry me?" Hermione starred at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Hermione! I know you heard him!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione looked blankly at Ginny before turning back to Draco.

"I… um… how…" Hermione tried to put her thoughts together. Draco started to look impatient again – as did Ginny and Blaise. Hermione sat down on the floor to think. Draco, Blaise and Ginny stared blankly at her, expectantly. Hermione looked back up at then again. Then to Draco. She stood up.

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" Draco said. Hermione punched him in the arm.

"Yes, I'll marry you – you idiot!" Ginny and Blaise screamed with delight. Draco took Hermione in his arms and gave her a great kiss. Rauma smiled.

"I am very glad that you agreed." Rauma said. The four wizards turned again to her. "This estate now has power and riches that even Draco could have only dreamed of before. I trust you to use it wisely and to not abuse the power."

"Thank you Rauma." Draco said. Rauma looked at him briefly.

"Can I please speak to Hermione alone for a moment?" Draco nodded and Hermione stepped forward. She closed her eyes and a moment later was in the portrait with Rauma. Rauma whispered into her ear and Hermione nodded. Rauma then gave Hermione a small key. Hermione appeared outside with her friends and fiancé.

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Later that evening, Hermione and Draco were still figuring out all the changes that occurred.

"Hermione?" Draco asked as Hermione looked up to him. "What did Rauma tell you and give you in the portrait?" Hermione paused for a moment.

"She gave me the key to the underground trove of treasures."

"What did she whisper to you?"

"She said that I must change the estate back to limit its powers when I reach the age of 40. I will return the charm to the Malfoy vault and return to Rauma's portrait the other items she has given me."

"Why?"

"Draco, I'm not the first person since Rauma to receive her will. You have had several women marry into the Malfoy family who received this honour. I am just the latest one." Hermione paused. "But the portrait is correct. Rauma does not believe a male Malfoy can handle the power and wealth so it has always gone to women. I'm sorry Draco, but that is her wishes."

Draco smiled and drew Hermione close. "That's ok. She knew that my wish was always you. And now that wish has come true." He whispered as he kissed her deeply on the mouth.

_Fin

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A/N: Ok! What do you think? I just couldn't get it to finish a way to could carry it out longer. I'm so sorry! I was thinking to continue where Hermione did get all the power and Draco had to move out, but then Draco was getting rather out of character from how he has been and it just seemed too off. And I was thinking of brining Josephine back in after their engagement, but that would have to be in a sequel or something. sigh

Well, I do think I'm going to come up with another plot and hopefully you will come back and read it:) Thank you so much for everything! I enjoyed writing and looking at what you write back to me!


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